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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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Copyright}^'?. 



COFVRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



Planning Production 
for Profit 

Tested and Selected Methods of 
Planning Production 

CompHedbomlndtutrittl Management, the Engineering Magazme 

Edited by 
John H. Van Deventer, M. E. 

Editor of Industrial Management 

Member of American Society of Mechanical Engineers 

Author of 

"Handbook of Machine Shop Management," Etc. 




New York 

The Engineering Magazine Company 

1921 

Doubleday, Page & Company 
Distributors 



-f51 



5^ 



1/3 



COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY '" 

THE ENGINEERING MAGAZINE COMPANY 



SEP 26 1921 



^hiOHl-j 



0)CI.A622999 



FOREWORD 

UNLESS one has been an assiduous follower and close 
student of Industrial Management, it is difficult to 
realize the wealth of practical information that appears 
in each issue of this journal, and that built, gradually and 
steadily, a most impressive accumulative total. This realiza- 
tion is made more difficult by the physical impossibility in any 
periodical of combining a symposium of related subjects in 
any one issue, and at the same time preserving a balance of 

topics. 

Some managers and executives attempt to solve this problem 
by means of a clipping index. There are a great many, how- 
ever, who do not, either because of lack of time, inclination, or 
because the idea has not suggested itself to them. This book 
has been produced so that all may readily participate in the 
benefits of such a classified selection of topics relating to the 
subject of organizing methods for production. It represents 
not merely the methods or opinions of an individual author, 
but the tested methods of a large number of successful execu- 
tives whose experience, as presented, is of permanent value and 
yet whose published accounts have not been extensive enough 
to permit of individual republication in book form. 

"Planning Production for Profit," then, brings to the reader, 
in classified form, material which would otherwise cause him a 
large amount of labor to secure. Its value lies in its many-sided 
points of view which represent, so to speak, round-table dis- 
cussions of the principal problems encountered by the man who 
plans and secures production. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 



Foreword v 

Organizing for Production 1 

A Practical and Successful Organization 1 

The Moderate-Sized Factory 10 

Practical Organization Principles 18 

Organizing a Purchasing Department 29 

Stock Systems, Storekeeping, and Inventories. ... 41 

Details of a Successful Stores System 43 

System in a Factory Stock Department 52 

Monthly and Yearly Inventories 60 

The Perpetual Inventory in Practical Operation .... 74 

Standard Practice for Purchasing and Stores Departments . 89 

Time-Study 107 

Time-Study as the Basis of Production 109 

Six Fundamentals of Time-Study 117 

Improvements in Time-Study Methods 130 

Time-Study in Small-Part Manufacture 138 

How to Make Group Time-Studies 155 

Instructions and Supervision 163 

How to Write and Use Standard Practice Instructions . . 165 

"Patrolling Supervision" — ^A New Foremanship .... 173 

Analysis 183 

Improving Shop Methods by Analysis 185 

Planning and Coordinating 213 

Planning Department Systems 215 

The Shop Order System 224 

Coordinating Tool Department Operations 240 

Coordinating Inspection with Production 255 

Preventing Man and Machine Idleness . . . . . . 267 

Routing 277 

How to Route a Multi-part Mechanism 279 

Evolution of the Progress Sheet 293 

Inspection — Organization — Management 305 

Organizing and Managing an Inspection Department . . 307 

vii 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



PAGE 



Plan of the Bullard Organization Showing the Inter- 

Relation of Departments Facing 2 

Requisition for Purchase 44 

Order for Material Issued by the Purchasing Department 45 

Receipt for Material 46 

5x8 Inch Card for Record of Material Received and 

Delivered 46 

Order on Storekeeper for Material 47 

Record of Material Returned to Stores 49 

Record of Material Sold 49 

Record for the Return of Material Previously Purchased 50 

Authority for Ordering 53 

Face and Back of Order Blank Facing 54 

Stock Card 55 

Daily Report of Goods Received 56 

Purchase Order Blank 57 

Reverse of Purchase Order Blank 57 

Identification Tag 58 

Departmental Report 64 

Sheet for Loose-Leaf Binder for Inventory Slips Facing 66 

Sheet Used for Recording Final Summary 68 

Sheet for Monthly Inventory of Finished Product . . 69 



IX 



X LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Production-Operation Cost Record Card for Inventory 

and Labor Cost 71 

Stock Room Card for Perpetual Inventory .... 72 

Stock Card for Special Items 72 

Balance-of -Stores Record 76 

Requisition for Obtaining Material from Stores ... 92 

Stores Record Card Giving Unit Price 92 

Requisition Slip Properly Filled Out 94 

Purchase Requisition Form for Material Not in Stock . 94 

Purchase Order, Made Out in Duplicate 95 

Dray Slip Giving Purchase Requisition Number . . . 96 

An Example of a Time-Study 115 

Front View of Tandem-Controlled Time-Study Board 
Facing 130 

Back View of Time-Study Board .... Facing 130 

Specimen Time-Study Sheet 135 

Graphic Illustrations of Average and Proposed Cycle . 136 

Diagrams Illustrating Group Rate Calculations . . . 156 

Diagram Illustrating Group Rate Calculations . . . 157 

Curves Showing the Relation Between Handling and Cost 158 

Showing Hand and Machine-Fed Tables . . . . . 160 

Instruction Card for Operator 169 

Scene in a Shop Where Traditional Methods of Manage- 
ment Prevail Facing 174 

Foreman, Under "Patrolling Supervision" System, 

Checking Work Facing 174 

Factory Superintendent — Blackmer & Post Pipe Co. — 

Ringing Clock at Station in Pyrometer Room Facing 176 

Operator Studying Next Job from Instruction Card". . 178 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi 



PAGE 



Graphic Reproduction of Order Routine for a Foundry . 218 

Chart Showing Activities of Purchasing Department . 219 

Map of Change of Rate and Transfer Procedure . . . 220 

Graphic Chart for Dehneating Successive Steps in Any 

Operation 221 

Travel Line Chart Showing Government Mail Routine . 222 

Authorization Order Form 226 

Specialized Order Form 226 

Typical Operation Analysis Sheet, Showing Operations, 

Tools and Machines 230 

Form for Requisitioning All Parts Needed from Store- 
room to Complete an Order 231 

Form for Material for Parts on Special Order .... 233 

Three-Part Purchase Order Form 233 

Combination Work Order and Time Card .... 234 

A Special Form of Dispatch Board. . . . Facing 234 

Machine Control Board 237 

Dispatch Board for Controlling Assembly .... 238 

Monthly Red Tag Report — 8 x 11 Inches — Work Behind 

Schedule 270 

Idle Machine Ticket 271 

Idle Man Ticket 272 

Causes of Man and Machine Idleness 272 

Curves for Month Showing Where Men Are Most Needed 276 

Route Chart for "Final Assembling" of Taylor Tool 

Grinder Facing 280 

Taylor Tool Grinder Facing 280 

Route Sheet for Final Assembling .... Facing 282 

Route Chart for Base Group of Taylor Tool Grinder . 282 



xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



PAGE 



Route Sheet for Piece Gtb2m 283 

Piece Route Sheet for Gtb5m 284 

Route Chart for Pump Division of Base Group Gtbp . 286 

Pump Division of Base Group Facing 286 

Chart for Mc3 . 290 

Chart for Brush Holder Group Mc3h 291 

Early Form of Progress Sheet Facing 294 

Skeleton Chart Showing the Form That Diagrams Figs. 
3, 4, and 5 Would Present if Connected Up in a Con- 
tinuous Single Chart According to the Original Taylor 
Method 298 

Form of Taylor Route Chart, Developed by Mr. Carl G. 
Barth 299 

Form of Taylor Route Chart Developed by Mr. Carl G. 
Barth Facing 300 

Form of Taylor Route Chart Developed by Mr. Carl G. 
Barth Facing 300 

Chart Showing Divisions and Groups Entering into the 
Construction of a Coat Facing 300 

"Final Assembling" Operations in the Manufacture of a 
Coat Facing 302 

Continuation and Completion of the Preceding Chart . 303 

An Organization Plan for the Inspection Force , . . 311 

Chart Demonstrating That There Are Definite Limits 
for a Given Output of an Inspected Product, Control- 
ling the Number of Inspectors That May Be Profitably 
Employed 325 



PLANNING PRODUCTION FOR PROFIT 

A Practical and Successful Organization 
The Moderate-Sized Factory 
Practical Organization Principles 
Organizing a Purchasing Department 



A PRACTICAL AND SUCCESSFUL ORGANIZATION 

BY S. H. BULLARD 

FOR successful manufacture an effective, comprehensive 
organization is indispensable. This is an axiom. 
Many manufacturers have, however, developed plans 
and organized around them, and, in a general way, attained 
comparatively large success in getting out the product as 
scheduled; but, through a blind worship of plan alone, many 
have missed the larger measure of success which would have 
been theirs if the plan itself had been developed around the 
personnel available within the organization as it exists. Analyz- 
ing, planning, and developing along "human" lines presents 
wonderful possibilities. 

The close relation of Organization Plans and Organization 
Policies has long been recognized in our work at Bridgeport, 
and the value of this idea, and our method of developing it, 
was well illustrated during the war period when the city of 
Bridgeport, under skilful, radical leadership, and the psy- 
chological influence of the War Labor Board, became a 
seething cauldron of unrest which culminated in a general 
strike of protest on the part of all mechanical trades, in which 
only nine (9) of our organization, out of approximately twenty- 
five hundred, took part. 

The purpose of an Organization Plan is to produce, but 
even the best of plans will fail if the organization policies 
are not in accordance with the right ideals, for no Organiza- 
tion Plan can be made effective unless it is surrounded and 
worked by men who, through belief in organization, have been 
welded into a truly cooperative, mutually respecting body. 

The type of organization shown in the chart presented here- 
with is based upon a careful analysis of the functions of the va- 
rious departments which must necessarily enter into the control 
of our manufacture. The interrelations of departments were 

1 



2 PLANNING PRODUCTION FOR PROFIT 

also given serious consideration, and in arriving at the final 
layout, as indicated in the written analysis, the character, capa- 
bilities, and standing of all available candidates for appoint- 
ments as department heads and assistants were given the 
thorough study warranted by the importance of the decision to 
be reached. With few exceptions the department heads of this 
company, and their assistants, have been trained in our own 
shops, having gone through the various steps of apprenticeship, 
journeyman, foreman, etc. Those who have not had their 
preliminary training with us were chosen on account of their 
superior knowledge and skill, and their adaptability to our 
methods and aims, though in no instance has an important posi- 
tion been filled until the candidate, through a reasonable period 
of association with us, has demonstrated to our satisfaction that 
he was thoroughly in accord with our policies. Our executives, 
therefore, know the plant, know what is expected of each de- 
partment, and understand every step, every task, and every 
incident likely to happen in the regular course of the work, 
and in addition are known to be thorough-going "Bullard" 
men. 

Believing that a thorough discussion by all parties in interest 
of the various phases of our manufacturing activities would 
result in a clearer understanding of the necessities of each de- 
partment, as well as the requirements of the plant as a whole, 
we have centered the functioning of our Organization Plan in the 
Plant Executive Council. By this system every department 
of the establishment is represented in the Council by its depart- 
ment head, who becomes, thereby, familiar with the progress 
and needs of every other department whether these bear directly 
upon his own sphere of influence or not. The accompanying 
chart, which was developed from the analytical study, graph- 
ically portrays not only the definite responsibility resting upon 
each department, but also by "tie-lines" the direct relation of 
each phase of departmental activity with the activities and 
responsibilities of other departments. The chart, therefore, as 
outlined, serves to clarify the atmosphere and remove any 
possibility of misunderstanding and unintentional assumption 
of authority. 



PUWT MANASEHENTCOHHnTEEl 



)R5W)1ZATI0N 
SERVICE DEPT, 
^ MANASER 

i 
<- )AS5ISTANT[ - 



SAFETY ^ 

ENGINEERING 



LUNCH- ROOM 
CO-OPERATIVE «■ 
STORE 



SAFEGUARD 
' MAN-POWER 



SANITATION 

iJMAM-POWER 

HEALTH 



EMPLOYMENT 

DEPT. 
MANA&ER 



REQUIRED 

LABOR 
EMPLOYMENT 



RECORDS 

SERVICE 

AND ABILITY 



SICKNESS 
A ACCIDEN 



FIRST 
AID 



a 



RATES 
DISCHARGES 

?ECO«MEKDATIONS 



IllwORKS manager! 

-I III I— L 



PLANT EXECUnVECOUNai 

CHAIRMAN WORKS MSR. 
MEMBERS 0EPT.HSR5 



INDUSTRIAL 
RELATIONS 



RECREATIONAL 
ACTIVITIES 



EDUCATIONAL 
UPLIFT 



VISITING 
NURSES 



WORKS 
ENGINEER 



^;: ]ft5sisT>wT5t i:;" 



WATCHMEN ■ 



T~ 
t — |assistant| 




EQUIPMENT 

DEPT. 
MANAGER 



INTER-DEPT 
TRAFFIC 



CRANES 
NOT UPKEEP 



TRUCKS 
NOT UPKEEP 



RIGGERS 
RUNNERS 



R1S6IN6 
MATERIAL 



HETALLUIBICAi 
ENGINEER 



*-|A55lgrANTl- 



MATERIAL 
SELECTION 



MATERIAL 
SPECIFICATION 



MATERIAL 
INSPECTION 



ANALYTICAL 
LABORATORY K 
ANALYSIS 



FORfelNO 



METHOD OF 

SHEET METAL 

WORKING 



METHOD 

OF 

HEAT TREAT 



FOUNDRY 

MIXING AND 

MELTING 



PRODUCTION 

OEPT 
MANAGER 



: ^ Iassistant 



MISCEL 
MFG 



PRODUCTION 
CONTROL 



STORES 
KEEPER 



STORES 
J?EC0RD5 



PRE-HA0IM5 
STORES 



ASSEMBLY 
STORES 



ERECTING 
STORE 



SERVICE 
STORE 



PRODXT 
STORE 



yVHOLESALE 
MILL 
SUPPLY 



CASTING 
STORES 



COAL-COKE 
»J5AN[H'l6IS0lf 

STONE-nC 



STEEL 

BAfrBllLET 

ETC. 



OIL 
STORE 



, PLANT OPER- ^ 

Tat ION DEPT.i 

MANA&ER 



^ 



STANDARDS 

DEFT. 
MANAGER 



'^iSSCTmpU'- 



STANDAROIZE 

- MACHINE k 

PARTS 



OETERMINE NEED 

♦ OF FIXTURE-JIGS 

AMD EQUIPMENT 



STANDARDIZE 
CONDITION 
OF MFG. 



STANDARDIZE 
OPERATIONS 



STANDARD 
TIMES 



TIME 
KEEPING 



MATERIALS 

AND 
PRODUCT 



[ASSISTANTS I 



BORING 
TURNING 
MILLS 



ALL 
INCOMING 
MATERIAL 



UNLOADING 
PLACING 



AUTO 
TRUCKS 
HOT UPKEEP 



LARGE 
LATHES 



SWITCHER 
HOT UPKEEP 



HORIIOKTAI 
BORING 



HORIIDHTAL 
DRILLING 



Ia3&EMBLyU*-* ERtaiNS 



TOOL 
MAKIN8 



GEAR 
CUTTING 
BR0ACHIN6 




SHEET 
METAL 



HEAT 
TREAT 



«|A55I5TANT^ 



, GENERAL 
FOREMAN 



t CUPOLA 



LATHES 

■>tTHREADA«B 

SCROLL 



LARGE 
MOULDING 



TURRET 

AND 

AUTOMATIC 



SHALL 
M0ULWN6 



FLASK 
REPAIR 



NISHT 
SHIPT 



PlVN of the BULL.VRD ORGANIZATION SHOWING THE InTER-RELATION OF DEPARTMENTS 



, CLEANINS 
CAST1N65 



FILLING 

>| PAINTING 

CASTINCiS 



LABORERS 

AND 
CUPOLA LQAI 



PATTERN 
5T0RA6E 
IN FOUNDRY 



A PRACTICAL ORGANIZATION PLAN 3 

PLANT EXECUTIVE COUNCIL 

Chairman — Works Manager. 
Members — Department Managers as follows: 
Works Engineer 

Engineering Standards 

Equipment Production 

Poj-ge Plant Operation 

Foundry Organization Service 

Employment Comptroller 

Function— Determination by conference on general plan of 
operations and requirements to attain the aims established 
by Management; and, by means of a general understanding 
of the individual and related activities of each and every 
department, to arrive at a complete coordination of effort 
in the upbuilding of the organization and the production of 
the greatest possible output of the highest quality work at 
lowest possible cost. 

Chairman will serve and act as Director and Coordina- 
tor of the effort of Departmental Managers. 
The meetings of the Plant Executive Council are held weekly, 
upon a specified date, and the subjects for consideration are 
announced by the Chairman (Works Manager) in his published 
call. It is largely possible that certain members of the Council 
will have no direct interest in subjects to be discussed at a 
meeting, and it is not expected that they will attend unless some 
particular phase or operation in their own department requires 
report or consideration by the Council as a whole; in which event, 
prior to the set meeting date, said member is required to sub- 
mit a brief outline of his case to the Chairman (Works Manager), 
thus msuring its consideration at next meeting. Typewritten 
copies of conclusions reached at Council Meetings are furnished 
each member of the Council for his guidance and information. 

PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT 

Function— "What to do." "When to do it." 
Related Factors and Lines of Effort: 

To estabhsh and maintain schedules of manufacture 



4 PLANNING PRODUCTION FOR PROFIT 

Requisition materials 
Received and record materials 
Store and issue 

Raw Materials 

Commercial Parts 

Manufactured Parts and Units 
Shipping Finished Product 
Interdepartmental Transportation 

STANDARDS DEPARTMENT 

Function — "How to do it." 
Related Factors and Lines of EfiFort: 

Analyze machine design and construction with a view of 
STANDARDIZATION and possible simplification of 
parts 

OBJECT — a lower cost of manufacture 

(Findings to be reported to Engineering Department for 
further consideration and final action) 

Develop and record for shop use Standard Methods of 
Operations and instructions thereon 

(Supply in proper form to Plant Operation Depart- 
ment) . 

Establish "Standard Routing" and "Standard Times" 

(Supply to Production Department, for their guidance in 
establishment of manufacturing schedules) 

EQUIPMENT DEPARTMENT 

Function— "What to do it with." 
Related Factors and Lines of Effort : 

Selection of required equipment 

Layout of Plant 

Development and design of jigs, fixtures, etc. (Schedule 
and control while in process) 

Selection and requisition of small tools 

Tool Crib Control. 

Maintain and repair machine equipment 



A PRACTICAL ORGANIZATION PLAN 



WORKS ENGINEER 

Function— "Where to do it." 
Related Factors and Lines of EflFort: 

Supervise and maintain Buildings, Power, Equipment, and 
Grounds 

Install all equipment 

PLANT OPERATION DEPARTMENT 

Function— "DOIT." 

Related Factors and Lines of Effort: 

In Buildings, provided and maintained by Works En- 
gineer's Dept. 

By Power, provided and maintained by Works Engineer's 
Dept. 

On Equipment, furnished by Equipment Dept. 

According to Plan, Standard Method and Route, and in 
Standard Time, established by Standards Dept. 

With Men, provided by Employment Dept. 

As required and SCHEDULED, by Production Dept. 

Maintain Discipline 

FOUNDRY DEPARTMENT 

Function — Casting Production as and when required by Pro- 
duction Department. (Foundry Production Department 
allied with and under control of General Production De- 
partment. Foundry discipline under control of Foundry 
Dept.) All other related activities under control of its 
proper Main Department. 

METALLURGICAL DEPARTMENT 

Function — Selection, Specifications for, and Control through in- 
spection, of all materials entering into machine construc- 
tion. 

Related Factors and Lines of Elffort: 
Forge Department 
Heat Treating Department 



6 PLANNING PRODUCTION FOR PROFIT 

Sheet Metal Department 
Analytical Laboratory 
Advisory 

EMPLOYMENT DEPAETMENT 

Function — ^Provide and Maintain Working Force. 
Related factors and Lines of Effort: 

Employ Labor as required for operating departments 

Establish and maintain educational work 

Supervise industrial relations 

Supervise recreational activities 

ORGANIZATION SERVICE DEPARTMENT 

Function — Service. 

Related Factors and Lines of Effort: 

Safety Engineering 

Sanitation 

Supervision of Man Power Health 

Supervision of Sickness and Accident — First Aid (Busi- 
ness and financial records regarding insurance and 
protective benefits handled and controlled by Treas- 
urer's Dept.) 

Lunch Room Control 

Cooperative Stores Control 

Investigation 

An analysis of the situation confronting the country in 1915 
led us to the conclusion that an organization could be built up 
and maintained only on the foundation of such principles as 
would permit satisfactory relations between employer and em- 
ployee, and which would insure stability of labor and true 
efficiency of production. The principles evolved are: 

1st. That respect and confidence between employer and 
employee shall be established and maintained. 

2d. That a proper and equitable incentive must be 
provided for both. 

3d. That there must be established a measure for de- 
termining a rate of wage. 



A PRACTICAL ORGANIZATION PLAN 7 

4th. That the rate of wage must be definitely related 
to the energy, skill, experience, and knowledge required to 
perform the work. 

We, like many successful manufacturers of long standing, 
had, without doubt, for many years operated on the basis of the 
four principles enunciated above, but until the stressful period 
which shortly followed the outbreak of war in Europe, we, in 
common with the rest, had not felt the need of clear statement 
of the policies which we had long followed. 

Publication of these policies, together with a clear statement of 
the various plans and lines of activity through which the policies 
were made effective, had a very marked influence in clarifying 
the situation and in upbuilding an organization spirit which was 
remarkable for its effect upon production and the quality of work. 

While these fundamentals were fully understood and appre- 
ciated by the older members of our organization, the influx of 
new men, incident to the rapid growth of our plant, called for 
special effort on the part of the executives and their representa- 
tives to whom authority had been delegated; and to attain the 
end of complete understanding and harmony, particular atten- 
tion was given to the development of a proper spirit and under- 
standing in that frequently neglected element of plant organiza- 
tion, the department foreman. 

That we have been notably successful in our efforts is evi- 
denced by the unusual spirit shown by everj^one in this estab- 
lishment. This has frequently been the subject of remark by 
visitors, and numerous instances could be related of the display 
of this organization spirit when circumstances were most trying. 
The managers, their representatives and the employees have 
established relationships whereby mutual respect and confi- 
dence prevail. 

The rate of wage is dependent upon individual productive 
capacity, the cost of living, and the question of supply and de- 
mand — individual productive capacity bearing a paramount 
relation to the other factors as it directly affects the cost of 
manufacture and therefore the saleability of the product in 
question. 



8 PLANNING PRODUCTION FOR PROFIT 

Statistics bearing on the cost of living are nationally available. 
Data regarding supply and demand is a matter of plant record, 
as is information regarding the cost of the various classifications 
of labor applied to production, and in turn, the direct relation 
of labor cost to the sales price of the finished product. 

To arrive at an intelligent conclusion by combining the factors 
evolved by the above analysis requires experience, judgment, 
and, above all, an equitable mind. It is highly essential, how- 
ever, that the hourly rate established shall be such as will pro- 
duce in the worker a contented state of inind. 

The incentives to employees are in the form of a bonus pay- 
ment based on the proportion of actual time to standard time 
on all jobs where such times can be considered. This is, of 
course, in addition to standard rates per hour for various grades 
of work. 

Individual judgment is not infallible, and, as in the nature 
of things, earning capacity bears a direct relation to produc- 
tive capacity, means are provided for recording the individ- 
ual's capacity for production and comparing, by periods, the 
improvement or decrease therein. 

The BuUard Maxi-Pay Wage Plan is based on a classifica- 
tion of the various degrees of energy, skill, experience, and 
knowledge, and in combination with the records of the Maxi- 
Pay Bonus Plan provides a means for determining the status 
of each member of the Organization. 

Every department is complete in itself, held strictly respon- 
sible for all matters over which jurisdiction has been assigned 
to it. Thus the production manager has full authority over 
everything indicated on the chart within the limits of his func- 
tions and is held strictly responsible for definite results. With 
the aid of a most complete routing system, he follows with cer- 
tainty every piece or lot of material from the moment of its 
receipt, through the stores to the various machines and opera- 
tions to which it may be assigned, up to the moment of deHvery 
of a finished machine tool. The number of pieces of finished 
parts for any job is always shown on the charts or forms in this 



A PRACTICAL ORGANIZATION PLAN 9 

office so that the chief or one of his assistants can give informa- 
tion bearing upon this with the least possible delay to any other 
executive of the plant who desires it. 

This organization plan avoids conflicts of authority, makes it 
unmistakably clear to every executive what he must do and how 
he must carry out his part of production in relation to the other 
executives. It is a real cooperative organization, and the proof 
of this statement is embodied in the facts that it produces, that 
it is financially successful, and that it holds its employees. 

It has required only a short time to build up a force of skilled 
mechanics loyal to the company and cooperating so far as is 
necessary or advisable with the management with the aim in 
view of increasing production, reducing costs, and increasing the 
worker's pay. Labor troubles have been comparatively few. 
The men in the shops have an opportunity to express them- 
selves individually either adversely or otherwise on the policies 
of the company, because the executives have always shown their 
willingness to listen to any reasonable complaints or suggestions 
on the part of the employees. There seems to be no particular 
need of shop committees. There are such bodies in the works, 
but they do not function as "Grievance Committees," as it is a 
point of the management to eliminate the possibility of the 
development of anything to the point where it can be classed as 
a "grievance." 

In any comment, therefore, on the Bullard organization, it 
must be realized what an important part of the plan is embodied 
in that which does not appear on the organization chart, but 
which manifests itself in the recognition by the management 
that the men working for them are always worthy of the fullest 
consideration, and by the willingness of the men to do an honest 
day's work for those who treat them right. 



THE MODERATE-SIZED FACTORY 

BY D WIGHT T. FARNHAM 

THE factory employing from a hundred to three hundred 
men is frequently owned by a single individual, or, if the 
company is incorporated, the management is dominated 
by the heaviest stockholder to such an extent that the result is 
the same. This man may not be actively engaged in the busi- 
ness of manufacture — quite frequently is not — but nevertheless 
his influence is strongly felt in matters touching the general 
business policy, expenditures, and innovations of any sort. 

The manager of the business, who may or may not have had 
manufacturing experience, is often the sales manager, in fact, 
if not in name, and presides over the general office of the 
company. He is looked to for results, but must keep well 
within the limits of the company's policy as laid down according 
to the doctrines of the dominant stockholder, and heresy of any 
kind on his part is likely to result in personal disaster. 

One of the most firmly established tenets in the creed of the 
successful business man is that of insisting upon the utter ex- 
termination of unproductive labor. No one will dispute the 
soundness of the reasoning provided the labor so designated 
assists in no way the process of manufacture. Too often, how- 
ever, since the man whose brain only is active differs not greatly 
in appearance from the man who is loafing, the fact that an em- 
ployee is neither rushing about nor actively engaged in manual 
labor causes him to be condemned as useless, and he is hence- 
forth abolished. The heavy stockholder very often knows a 
good deal about bookkeeping, and, since he visits the factory 
to better it, he will readily attack any apparent excess of men in 
this department, while fear of showing his ignorance would 
cause him to hesitate a long time before criticizing the number 
of men actually engaged in the work of manufacture. The 
manager and the superintendent must please their superior and 

10 



THE MODERATE-SIZED FACTORY 11 

so are extremely loth to sanction in any way an increase in 
"apparently unproductive labor." When lack of profits forces 
retrenchment the clerical force is always the first to be 
attacked, and the efficiency of the executive is often badly 
impaired by the consequent lack of necessary figures. Even 
some very successful business men go so far as to view with 
great alarm the acquisition of anything in the nature of office 
furniture by a superintendent, fearing that he may be tempted 
to loll in idleness when he ought to be rushing about among 
his men. They feel that they are getting their money's worth 
when he is wearing out shoe leather which he pays for, but 
they are not so sure of it when he is sitting at a desk working 
his brains and using paper and pencil which they pay for. 
This may seem to be an exaggeration, but nevertheless the 
two commonest criticisms applied to managers and superintend- 
ents are: "The business is too top-heavy," or, "He has too many 
men standing around." 

Human nature being what it is, and the successful owner 
having pretty definite ideas as to who is responsible for his suc- 
cess and as to just how it was obtained, what chance has the 
efficiency engineer of foisting upon the average small business 
the paraphernalia of Staff and Line, Routing, Dispatching, and 
Time Study, with their Chief of Staff, Supervisors of Study, of 
Planning, of Standards, of Bonus, of Analysis, etc., together 
with each one's clerks, messengers, etc. ? The result of such an 
attempt would be too awful to contemplate. How, then, is the 
small or medium-sized enterprise to obtain the benefits which 
can unquestionably be obtained by the introduction of the 
principles of efficiency.'' 

A number of years ago the writer was placed in charge of a 
factory in the Far West which employed a hundred men. The 
plant was in a chaotic condition, having just passed through an 
interregnum under a foreman after a year under a superintend- 
ent whose troubles had driven him to drink. The old timers 
in charge of various departments were at war with each other; 
each had designs upon the superintendency, and all looked 
upon a college graduate as some sort of an animal designed 
rather to amuse than to alarm. As a result, the writer spent 



12 PLANNING PRODUCTION FOR PROFIT 

the first few weeks in rushing about from one department to 
another trying to get each one patched up to run long enough 
so that the factory could be operated as a whole. When this 
had been accomplished the factory was limping to such an ex- 
tent that it was realized that each department and each ma- 
terial would have to be analyzed and great improvements made 
before anything like efficient operation could be looked for. 
Meantime, the factory had to be run, and it took all of one man's 
time straightening out the snarls arising in each department 
and keeping the product coming. This forced the writer to 
recognize the principle that the factory should he so organized that 
it would run itself, leaving the superintendent free to throw him- 
self to the aid of the weakest department. 

This idea was worked out in practice by gradually evolving 
from the most promising material at hand a line organization 
under an assistant superintendent. This organization handled 
all the routine operations of manufacture leaving the superin- 
tendent free to meet any emergency of an extraordinary nature 
and to do analytical and research work — made him, in a measure, 
chief -of -staff . It seemed logical that the highest-salaried official 
about the plant should be best able to study and improve the 
various operations, and the opportunity to do this was secured. 
When necessary, assistants were detailed from the different de- 
partments, and the scope of certain foremen who were expert 
in certain operations was extended to cover other departments 
as far as these operations were concerned. The course of the 
product through the factory was studied and changes made 
which facilitated its movement. The assistant superintendent 
made the dispatching one of his duties, and a sufficient supply of 
raw and semi-manufactured material was assured each depart- 
ment. Processes were studied and unnecessary labor elimi- 
nated. All finished products not strictly first quality were 
classified according to their defects and the causes removed as 
far as possible. The written instruction card was adopted for 
the most important operations after a thorough analysis and 
determination of the best method by a process of elimination. 
Outside expert assistance was called in when necessary; other 
plants were visited, and the experience of the best workmen 



THE MODERATE-SIZED FACTORY- 13 

made available. Machines were improved and in some cases 
new varieties were substituted. This type of staff organiza- 
tion, as will be seen, permits the careful investigation of various 
problems, but at the same time, on account of its great flexibil- 
ity, its expense is no greater than the occasion demands. 

As the system began to operate more smoothly, the results 
were evident. Fuels were investigated, and a more efficient 
type of furnace reduced power costs. By the use of indicator 
diagrams, power was increased and steam consumption de- 
creased. Gages recorded the conscientious performance of the 
duties of the night crew. Shutdowns on the more important 
machines were diminished when recording gages were installed 
which showed their duration and frequency. Technical control 
on all furnace operations saved fuel and improved quality. 
Conveying and unloading plants were installed which cheap- 
ened the cost of handling raw materials and fuel. Methods 
were adopted which lessened the damage to parts in transit 
from one department to another. Staff methods of investiga- 
tion applied to every department decreased costs and improved 
quality. 

For the first few months it was impossible to determine the 
exact balance of the plant as the maximum output for each 
department was not known. As soon as this could be ascer- 
tained, however, weak departments were strengthened by the 
addition of equipment, men, or special attention, until a con- 
tinuous pull was exerted upon the product throughout the course 
of its movement through the factory. The way some depart- 
ments expanded when cramping conditions were removed was 
astonishing. As a result, responsibility for delays was placed 
where it belonged, and the output of the plant was increased 
nearly 50 per cent. 

The cost system was overhauled, useless work eliminated, and 
the balance so arranged as to emphasize variations from the 
normal in such a way that they would receive immediate atten- 
tion. The cost of vital or governing operations was figured 
daily, so that the executive knew each morning what efficiency 
had been attained the day previous. The shipping department 
was reorganized along lines which would make mistakes difficult. 



14 PLANNING PRODUCTION FOR PROFIT 

and the $150,000 stock of manufactured goods which it was 
necessary to carry was recorded on a continuous card inven- 
tory in such a way that the office knew the supply of each 
variety at all times and, therefore, could safely promise delivery 
or manufacture new stock to remedy deficiencies. The time 
of all workmen was distributed against the proper operation, 
so that prompt and reliable records were secured. All clerical 
work was so systematized that, with the exception of the for- 
mal bookkeeping, it could be done by one man in spite of the 
fact that sales usually amounted to over $400,000 per year. 

Labor conditions were improved as time went on. About 
three quarters of the men were paid by the day and the balance 
were under the task system. Good results were obtained with 
the latter as the time allowed for the tasks was never cut, al- 
though one or two adjustments had to be made in the rate per 
hour to suit conditions in the district. The efficiency of the 
day workers, of course, depended largely upon the driving abil- 
ity and personality of the foremen, but everything was done to 
remove obstacles to rapid performance and to make working 
conditions comfortable. Definite records were kept of the 
daily production of each man or crew, so that any urging to 
further efforts was as intelligent as is possible under the day- 
labor system. 

Wherever possible it was made easier to do the right thing 
than the wrong, and it was generally so contrived that the per- 
sistent wrong-doer was sooner or later "hoist with his own 
petard." The adoption of this principle, while it requires abso- 
lute fairness, a knowledge of human nature, and some intuition, 
elevates the general tone of an organization to a marked degree, 
as an apparent Fate is a much more terrible opponent than the 
usual flesh-and-blood boss. 

Every effort was made to get the workmen to tell the truth 
when a fault resulted in loss, on the theory that if all the causes 
for a defect were known the defect could often be remedied or 
the reason for the mistake or shortcoming of the workman in- 
telligently removed, while if some factor were concealed wrong 
conclusions would be reached. In fact, in one or two depart- 
ments the workmen knew that a lie meant instant discharge, 



THE MODERATE-SIZED FACTORY 15 

while the most flagrant offense, if honestly explained, meant, at 
the most, a lay-off. This resulted in a mutual trust and frank- 
ness between the executive and the workmen, which were of in- 
calculable value. 

The adoption of this system of Staff-and-Line organization cut 
the labor cost in less than two years from 20 to 30 per cent., 
and increased the output 50 per cent, and the quality 20 per 
cent. 

After a few years the system was installed by the same com- 
pany in its other factories. In one, the introduction of the 
system allowed the superintendent sufiicient time to exercise a 
latent inventive genius which revolutionized a considerable 
branch of manufacture. The output of one machine which 
had never in the history of the business exceeded 5,000 units per 
day was increased to 13,000 with little increase in the operating 
crew. All sorts of articles were manufactured which had been 
impossible before and great improvements in quality were made. 
The company became possessed of a number of valuable patents; 
workmen were rewarded for their inventive genius, and in- 
genuity was stimulated. 

Record outputs for various machines and quality records were 
circulated among the different factories, and successful emula- 
tion was rewarded. Output increased, quality improved, and 
costs decreased. The best brains were released from routine 
and the results were of incalculable value to the company. 

In all, this system was installed in six different factories, and 
the invariable result was lower costs, increased output, and 
improved quality. Later it was successfully adapted to the 
operation of mines and quarries, always with beneficial results. 

When the principles of Scientific Management and Efficiency 
were definitely stated in book form by Taylor and Emerson, 
their importance was immediately apparent to the writer who, 
in so far as he was able, applied them to the operations of the 
various plants. Belting was standardized, and repairs analyzed. 
In one plant alone the cost of repair parts in one department was 
cut over $1,200 a year — 33 per cent. The cost of oil in one 
factory was reduced nearly $1,500 a year, or 50 per cent. Wher- 
ever applied, the principles effected a great saving — but that is 



16 PLANNING PRODUCTION FOR PROFIT 

another story. The point is that it was proved that the Super- 
intendent, Staff, Assistant Superintendent and Hne organization 
were adapted to carrying out the principles of scientific manage- 
ment in the factory of moderate size. 

These principles are overwhelming in their logic. It is the 
machinery of the thing that terrifies the owner of the small fac- 
tory. The Industrial Engineer does not get very far with his 
"Staff paralleling the Line," "Keeping costs on the operations 
of each man," "Planning and Dispatching Departments, etc.," 
before his explanations are drowned by cries of: "Red tape," 
"Too much overhead," "Too much system," "Our business 
wouldn't stand it," and the factory is denied the privileges 
which it is admitted the large plant can afford. 

On the other hand, the plan of freeing the superintendent 
from routine — making him work his brains and, therefore, not 
wasting any of his high salary in semi-physical labor which a 
cheaper man can do as well — seems logical and contains nothing 
revolutionary. The plan is one which appeals also to the su- 
perintendent. He still has his authority over his men in case 
he wishes to exercise it. His prestige is in no way diminished. 
To maintain discipline and to avoid inroads upon his time he 
must give orders only through the assistant superintendent; 
but the good executive will regard this as no curtailment of 
authority. 

If the business is so small that the superintendent, by calling 
on one or two of the regular departments for assistance from 
time to time, can keep the principles of scientific management 
in operation, the benefit is secured. After the Industrial Engi- 
neer has made the analytical time-studies and shown him how 
to continue them on the more simple operations, he can keep 
this part of the system up and revise the written instruction 
cards from time to time with occasional help from the engineer. 
The bonus system once established, the superintendent can make 
such slight adjustments as are necessary. Dispatching, per- 
haps, takes part of a clerk's time, some of his regular foreman's 
time, and demands occasional attention from the assis- 
tant superintendent. Routing, once established by the engi- 
neer, needs' little attention. The same foremen become rather 



THE MODERATE-SIZED FACTORY 17 

more specialists, and, with little increase in expense, functional 
foremanship is established. The repair man who is required to 
keep certain records in conjunction with the man who has 
charge of the storehouse is told to do a little more thinking, and 
to let his helper do more of the manual labor; before long, with 
the engineer's help, standardized repairs are an accomplished 
fact. All this is very crude and is adapted to only the smallest 
sort of a factory. The system is flexible, however, so that the 
plan outlined above may be expanded. An assistant foreman 
may be created here and there; specialists made of the various 
repair men, and the activities of staff officials removed a little 
more from the line until the conventional Staff -and-Line organi- 
zation recommended for the large factory is reached. 



PRACTICAL ORGANIZATION PRINCIPLES 

BY G. SUMNER SMALL 

THE term "Organizing" is so often used in industry to 
denote the selecting of competent men to act as execu- 
tives, or employment and the term "Organization" to 
denote the collection of men thus obtained or the personnel, that 
it is necessary to define the interpretation used in this dis- 
cussion. 

" Organization " is here used to denote the art of splitting up 
the main purpose or function of an industry into many lesser pur- 
poses or functions which will be within the capacity of individual 
attainment. 

It is parallel to the use of the word "design" in mechanics 
representing the science of dividing the conception of a machine 
to perform a main purpose into definite parts each of which 
performs a lesser function in the furtherance of this main 
purpose. 

The two sciences are similar in a number of ways and many 
of the basic principles of design may be followed to advantage in 
organization. 

Design is absolutely limited by the quality and strength of 
available materials and the known means of working them into 
the shapes of the parts desired. 

Organization is limited by the ability and brains of available 
men and by the difficulty of training these men to capability in 
performing the desired tasks. 

The designer would not think of designing the parts of a 
machine so they would require greater strength than any but 
rare materials or so shaped that they could not be formed except 
by specially designed machinery, as the cost of construction 
would be prohibitive. 

The organizer, on the other hand, almost invariably ignores 
this fundamental material factor. He divides the main purpose 

18 



PRACTICAL ORGANIZATION PRINCIPLES 19 

of the industry into various functions and positions without any 
regard as to whether the duties and mental requirements of the 
positions are within the abihty of the ordinary executive who 
can be retained to fill the position. 

He does give attention to the physical side of the work. 
The number of men employed as laborers is carefully propor- 
tioned to the amount of physical effort required. Executives 
are also roughly limited in the number of men or departments 
assigned to them, but no attention is paid to the complexity or 
variety of mental efiPort assigned to those positions whose labors 
are primarily mental. 

This is one of the reasons why so many industries experience 
great difficulty in obtaining executives who are capable of suc- 
cessfully handling the duties of their various positions. The 
fault is usually assigned to the executives selected. The fault 
actually lies with the management which has created positions 
which the ordinary executive has not the ability to fill. 

Few managers realize the enormous difference in the skill, 
knowledge, and mental effort required, which can be brought 
about by a proper split up of duties. As an illustration let us 
examine the difference which can be created in the mental effort 
and knowledge required by skilled workers in an assembly 
department assembling a complicated machine such as an 
automobile. 

In the old-fashioned assembly department each man or crew 
assembled all parts of complete machines. They had to know 
the construction and position of each part and the method of 
fitting and adjusting it to give the most satisfactory operation 
in the completed machine. The men were high-priced, skilled 
workers and it took several years to train a man to proficiency 
in this work. 

In the modern assembly department each man or crew assem- 
bles but one or two parts to the machine which is then passed 
on to other assemblers who put on additional parts. Each man 
requires only a knowledge of the particular parts which he 
handles. Ordinary moderate-priced workers are used and can 
be trained to proficiency in a few weeks' time, and the machines 
produced are more uniform and better adjusted than those 



20 PLANNING PRODUCTION FOR PROFIT 

assembled under the old methods and the production per man is 
far greater. 

The advantages of the second method are gained entirely by 
the method of splitting up the work. In the first method the 
split-up divided the physical effort into tasks within the powers 
of individuals, but the mental effort was not divided and re- 
mained at a maximum for each employee. 

In the second method, the division split up both the physical 
and mental effort and brought the mental requirements of each 
position within the scope of men of less ability and shorter 
training. 

As in machine design a factor of safety can be used to advan- 
tage in organization. That is, instead of making the mental 
effort of the position equivalent to the ability of the average 
executive it is made enough lower to eliminate any doubt 
of his capability in handling its duties. The less the effort 
required, the lower the ability necessary to handle the position 
and the better the results obtained with the same grade of 
executive. 

This specialization can be carried to an extreme, especially 
as applied to minor positions or employees, just as the factor of 
safety in machine design may be so large as to produce a clumsy 
machine. 

If the mental effort is extremely small the employee tends to 
degenerate through the non-use of his general faculties and the 
over-use of the particular faculties brought into play by his over- 
specialized work. 

This is well illustrated by over-specialization in physical effort. 
Where an employee is restricted to but a few motions, the mus- 
cles not used deteriorate, while the muscles used are overtaxed 
to an extent which frequently results in occupational sclerosis, 
or a temporary paralysis of the overtaxed muscles. Such work 
is also monotonous and irritating and the employee gains no 
experience of value to him in any other position or company. 

The labor unions recognize this evil and are inclined to oppose 
over-specialization of work. However, this is no more an argu- 
ment against legitimate specialization than the clumsy machine 
with the excessive factor of safety is an argument in favor of 



PRACTICAL ORGANIZATION PRINCIPLES 21 

abolishing any consideration of the factor of safety in machine 

design. 

Mental specialization is the specialization of the employees' 
activities on duties which involve mental requirements so lim- 
ited that extreme expertness is easily acquired. Such special- 
ization is brought about by organizing so as to split up the men- 
tal complications of the main functions of the business in their 
division into positions or jobs for the various employees. 

Mental complications in a business arise from two sources, 
namely, the products and the operations on those products. 
If the operations are complicated and difficult and the products 
simple, spfeciahzation is obtamed by allowing each employee 
one operation on a number of products. If the products are 
complicated and the operations simple specialization is obtained 
by allowing each employee to perform several operations on 
only one product. 

That this differentiation is not generally understood is shown 
by the great number of companies which have speciahzed posi- 
tions by operations under the impression that this necessarily 
specialized the knowledge required. 

This common error was well illustrated by the office arrange- 
ment of a firm manufacturing eyeglasses, spectacles, lenses, and 
optical goods, which, because of the endless varieties of types, 
sizes, and qualities, produced over one hundred thousand differ- 
ent products. 

The greatest mental effort mvolved was the knowledge of the 
enormous varieties of products produced. The operations in- 
volved were translating orders into factory specifications, check- 
ing against finished-stock records, pricing, factory-order writmg, 
and billing. 

Proceeding on their own theory they had speciahzed by opera- 
tions creating an order-translating department, a pricing de- 
partment, a stock-record department, an order-writing depart- 
ment, and a billing department. Each of these departments 
still required a complete knowledge of all products and this was 
beyond the capacity of any clerks who could be hired. 

The results were far from satisfactory. In the pricmg de- 
partment alone, despite the fact that the work was done twice 



22 PLANNING PRODUCTION FOR PROFIT 

as a check, mistakes were made on approximately 15 per cent, of 
the orders priced. 

A change in organization was made and the office was divided 
into an eyeglass department, spectacle department, lens de- 
partment, etc. Each of these departments handled all opera- 
tions such as order translation, pricing, stock checking, etc., 
but they only required a knowledge of the particular class of 
goods handled. 

The former difficulties immediately disappeared. Where 
clerks formerly referred to records to obtain each entry, they 
were now able to depend largely on memory and the work was 
done faster and with less clerks. 

Before leaving this particular case it is worth while enumerat- 
ing the indirect advantages which resulted from correct organiz- 
ation. They were as follows: 

(a) — Where formerly a complete record of all products was 
required in each department, now one record split by 
products among the departments is sufficient. 

(b) — One reference to the product card serves to obtain the 
information for all occupations where formerly as many 
references had to be made as there were departments. 

(c) — Each order formerly had to pass from department to 
department and was delayed between departments where 
now it is completed in one department. This reduced 
the time required to get an order to the plant from three 
days to less than one day, 

(d) — The location of each order is fixed and known and all 
information concerning it can be obtained from one 
place. 

While there seems to be no definite law covering these inciden- 
tal improvements, it is nevertheless a fact that where a correct 
organization arrangement is made, the systems and methods 
required are simplified and reduced to a minimum. 

The same errors of organization are found in manufacturing 
departments where the tendency again seems to be to divide 
by operations rather than products without regard to the loca- 
tion of the greatest complications. 



PRACTICAL ORGANIZATION PRINCIPLES 23 

An example of this was a machine shop manufacturing about 
twenty types of products of entirely different design. The 
shop had been divided by operations into a lathe department, 
planing department, milling department, drilling department, 
etc., because this hmited the knowledge of the foremen to the 
operation of the particular class of equipment used in his de- 
partment. 

Under this arrangement, each foreman handled one or more 
operations on nearly every part of all the machines manufac- 
tured which required a knowledge on his part of every detail of 
construction. It was necessary for him to keep track of and 
follow up every part and to cooperate closely with every other 
department handling them so as to produce them when required. 
He also had to handle and follow up every order received in the 

plant. 

The unsatisfactory results from this method of organization 

were briefly as follows: 

(a)— Complicated planning and follow-up systems were re- 
quired to keep track of the scattered parts of orders, 
(b)— It was impossible to maintain a flow of work from de- 
partment to department which would keep all machines 
busy without carrying excessive stock in process. 

(c)— It was difficult to determine the standing of an order, as 
parts of the order would be scattered through all de- 
partments. 

(d)— There was trouble in collecting all the parts necessary 
for assembly and many rush orders had to be put 
through to obtain needed parts. 

(e) — Parts were delayed in passing from department to de- 
partment and deliveries were late. 

(^f) — There were many errors and spoiled parts and it was 
difficult to determine which department was responsi- 
ble. 

(g) — It was difficult to determine the accomplishments of each 
department or to hold foremen responsible for results. 

This shop was reorganized so as to create a number of de- 
partments each of which performed all operations on and 



24 PLANNING PRODUCTION FOR PROFIT 

manufactured complete one or two products only. The results 
of this arrangement may be summarized as follows: 

(a) — Each foreman had to be familiar only with the con- 
struction and parts of the particular products he han- 
dled and there were less errors and spoiled parts. 

(b) — Each department handled only that small portion of 
the orders for their particular products, and the only 
planning and follow-up work required was restricted to 
that department which handled all parts. 

(c) — There was no cooperation required between depart- 
ments as there was no exchange of product between 
them. 

(d) — There was no delay of parts between departments and 
orders were completed more rapidly; there were seldom 
any missing parts when the machines were assembled 
and orders were delivered on time. 

(e) — The accomplishment of each department was easily 
measured by the quantity, quality, and cost of the 
complete machines it produced and the foreman was 
held to strict account for the results produced. 

In this case the mental complications involved in a knowledge 
of the various kinds of operations performed were insignificant 
in comparison with the mental complication involved in a knowl- 
edge of the products produced, and consequently the correct 
organization was a division of the products among the various 
departments. 

The division of an organization by products does not neces- 
sarily mean one by complete products, it merely means that 
the products of any department shall differ from those of all 
other departments. For instance, in a plant manufacturing 
a single complicated product, a division by products would 
assign to each department the task of manufacturing one or 
several parts of that machine. 

A diametrically opposite condition would be met in attempt- 
ing to organize a pulp and paper industry. 

Here the products are all similar and little complication is 
involved in the knowledge of these products. However, the 



PRACTICAL ORGANIZATION PRINCIPLES 25 

equipment and processes are complex and the greatest mental 
complication is involved in becoming competently expert in the 
handling of the various processes. 

For this reason a division by products would be inadvisable 
and it is far better practice to divide by equipment and pro- 
cesses, creating a wood room, a digestor department, a bleach- 
ing department, a washing department, a beater department, 
and a paper-machine department. The various foremen are 
then able to specialize and become extremely expert in handling 
their processes so as to obtain the results so necessary to the 
quality of the paper. 

In other plants both methods of organization often have to 
be applied to diflFerent sections of the business. For instance, 
the foundry would handle all parts requiring castings, while the 
machine shop might be divided so each would handle a specific 
portion of the products produced. 

In actual practice all sorts of counterbalancing complications 
are met which make the question of the proper split-up a nice 
study. However, by keeping the correct principle in mind and 
carefully analyzing the involvements of the main functions of 
the business it is not difficult to determine the divisions which 
will produce the most satisfactory results. 

In going concerns, the manufacturing split-up is often fixed 
by the existing arrangement of equipment, and the cost of 
changing this arrangement in accordance with correct organi- 
zation principles is prohibitive. This renders the task of man- 
agement difficult. However, a compromise arrangement can 
usually be effected after a careful study of conditions, which 
will approximate the conditions of correct organization. 

For instance, where the foreman has to be famihar with a 
wide variety of products, careful records of these products ar- 
ranged for quick reference will reduce the mental effort required. 
Where the arrangement requires excessive transportation be- 
tween departments a good planning system and an unusually 
efficient transportation system will eliminate the delays which 
would otherwise occur and assure a flow of parts which will 
keep all equipment busy. 

Where the arrangement requires close cooperation between 



26 PLANNING PRODUCTION FOR PROFIT 

departments, that cooperation can be obtained through the in- 
stallation of records which carry all necessary information for 
cooperation between departments and make the furnishing of 
such information a routine matter which consequently will not 
be forgotten or neglected. 

As can be seen, a great part of the systems and methods which 
are installed in plants by firms of engineers are necessary only 
to overcome defects caused by incorrect organization, and poor 
organization can be blamed for much of the red tape and ex- 
cessive systematization which is so common in large industries. 

It is much easier to perceive the fault caused by poor organiza- 
tion and to attempt to overcome it through system than it is 
to perceive and correct the underlying fault in organization, 
and unfortunately most industries have taken this more appar- 
ent course of action. Systems which combine the greatest sim- 
plicity with the most direct action in obtaining the required 
results are one of the strongest factors in creating an eflScient 
industry and can only be obtained where a correct organization 
structure exists. 

The foregoing discussion has dealt only with the art of splitting 
up the main purposes or functions of an industry and presup- 
poses that those main purposes or functions have been definitely 
determined. However, in the majority of industries they have 
not been definitely determined. 

In a manufacturing industry this main purpose is the produc- 
tion of certain specific types, sizes, qualities, and varieties of 
products. Where these are fixed and the sales department 
functions only as a seller of these products, the main purpose of 
the company can be considered definite. Where, on the other 
hand, the sales department disposes of what it can best sell and 
the plant is expected to manufacture what is sold, the purpose 
is indefinite and fluctuating. 

The second method is by far the easier course and for that 
reason companies tend to drift into it and allow their customers 
to dictate the sizes, types, and varieties of products which they 
manufacture. 

The passing of the control of the policy of a company into the 
hands of the sales department and the customers is such a grad- 



PRACTICAL ORGANIZATION PRINCIPLES 27 

ual process and seems such a natural outcome of legitimate 
growth that the dangerous tendency is seldom recognized by the 
management until conditions have reached a point where they 
seriously affect profits. 

A company starts manufacturing a few products, but soon 
finds a demand for additional sizes which it includes in its line. 
The salesmen soon find opportunities for making sales if special 
changes in design are made to suit the conditions or whims of 
certain customers. An opportunity to obtain a good order of 
different products arises and is accepted as increased business 
is desirable. It is but a step from these conditions to one where 
the salesmen offer a willingness to alter design or make specials 
as an ordinary inducement to obtain business. 

The company which started to make large quantities of a few 
products soon reaches the stage where it is manufacturing 
very small lots of an enormous variety of products and is con- 
ducting a job-shop business at intensive-production prices. 

It is a perfectly legitimate and profitable business to conduct 
a job shop making all special products; however, the continual 
changing of machine set-ups and the idle-time losses make this 
class of manufacturing so expensive that it is necessary to charge 
consistently high prices in order to make a profit. 

A very little of this special small-order business so reduces 
the efficiency of a shop that it renders it impossible for it to 
produce large-quantity production orders in competition with 
other manufacturers. Also the manufacturing methods, sys- 
tems, organization, cost methods, and management of a job 
shop are entirely different from those required to effectively con- 
duct a plant on a production basis. 

Another policy which seriously affects the economy of manu- 
facturing is that of service to customers. The acceptance of 
rush orders in a production shop so interferes with the flow of 
work through the plant that it is soon reduced to job-shop con- 
ditions and the advantage of the low manufacturing costs of 
production work is entirely sacrificed. 

The main purposes of an industry are necessarily the supply- 
ing of definite products and services to consumers. The in- 
ternal policies and organization structure are secondary inas- 



28 PLANNING PRODUCTION FOR PROFIT 

much as they must conform to the carrying out of these main 
purposes if the plant is to be efficient. If these main purposes 
are constantly varying, the result is reflected in great difficulty 
in fixing the internal policies and organization as it is impossible 
to create a structure capable of efficient use in serving multiple 
or varying purposes. 

All production plants are called on to furnish repair parts 
and in most cases to put through special and rush orders for 
important customers. In order that this work shall not inter- 
fere with or interrupt production orders, the more progressive 
plants have found it advisable to create special departments run 
on a job-shop basis where all such work is handled without inter- 
ference with regular production. 

The natural tendency of a sales department is to make any 
concessions asked by a customer, and it will only conform to 
the purposes of the industry when restrained by strict policies. 

These policies may be considered as the laws set up to govern 
an industry so that it will conform to definite purposes. Like 
all laws, their interpretation may have to be varied to conform 
to the exigencies of particular applications and they may have 
to be revised to meet changed conditions, but they act neverthe- 
less as a compass and serve the important purpose of maintain- 
ing an industry on its course toward its ultimate objective. 

The main factors to be considered in the organization of an 
industry may be summarized as follows : 

1 — Establish definite policies as to what types of products 
shall be manufactured. 

2 — Establish definite policies as to the service to be accorded 
customers. 

3 — Divide the task of accomplishing these main objectives so 
as to split up the major mental complications among the posi- 
tions created and so as to bring the duties of these positions well 
within the abilities of the average employees who can be re- 
tained to fill them. 




ORGANIZING A PURCHASING DEPARTMENT 

BY G. SUMNER SMALL 

'HILE the saying holds good that the first profit in a 
business is in the purchasing, the attempt to pur- 
chase cheaply by beating the market is frequently car- 
ried to a point where it approaches speculation or gambling 
in futurities. Some concerns even go so far as to encourage 
their purchasing agents to speculate by holding them account- 
able where a price fell after purchase was made, or because an 
additional quantity was not purchased before a price rose. 

While there are several commodities, of which a good exam- 
ple is coal, which varies in price with the season, and in the 
purchase of which the purchasing agent is able to take advan- 
tage of low prices by stocking up, as a general rule speculation 
in purchasing materials is equivalent to speculation in wheat 
or in stocks, and has about the same opportunities for success. 
The purchasing agent who purchases at a time and in quantities 
in accordance with the requirements of consumption, and at the 
lowest quotation at the time of purchase, usually comes out 
ahead and best serves his concern. 

In a recent case a concern lost many thousands of dollars in 
speculation and seriously embarrassed its manufacturing de- 
partment through a shortage of material by holding off on 
necessary purchases because of the behef that war-time prices 
would not hold. The executives refused needed pig iron at 
$22 per ton and finally covered at $46 per ton; this was but one 
of many materials in which they gambled on the wrong side of 
the market. 

The functions of a purchasing department in the order in 
which the author has found them to be of the greatest impor- 
tance in producing profits for manufacturers, are as follows: 

(a) Obtaining the dehvery of materials at the time they are 
required. 

29 



30 PLANNING PRODUCTION FOR PROFIT 

(b) Obtaining materials of the exact quality for the results 
required. 

(e) Purchasing at the lowest possible price. 

One of the best illustrations in the author's experience of the 
conditions which may arise in a concern due to poor follow-up 
methods in the purchasing department was a small concern 
manufacturing heat-treating furnaces. The furnaces were con- 
structed almost entirely from purchased castings and parts. 
The manufacturing consisted largely of assembly work. 

An investigation in the assembly department showed an 
amazing condition. Figuring roughly by weight, there was 
enough material on hand to construct over one hundred fur- 
naces, but in no case were all the parts on hand that were 
necessary for the complete manufacture of any one furnace. 
The assembly department was filled with semi-completed fur- 
naces on which work had been stopped because of lack of parts. 
The assembly crews had to be continually switched from one 
job to another as the needed parts came in, were frequently idle, 
and the consequent assembly cost was so great that there was 
grave doubt as to whether the concern would be able to remain 
in business. The installation in the purchasing department of 
a simple, business-like follow-up system corrected the difficulties 
and put the concern on an excellent, profit-making basis. 

The manufacture of automobiles, especially those manufac- 
tured largely by assembling purchased parts, is another good 
example. The economical manufacture of automobiles is 
largely dependent on the maintaining of a uniform flow of parts 
through the plant, of a daily production of a uniform number of 
cars, and this is largely dependent on purchasing. A car cannot 
be completed in the assembly department unless every last nec- 
essary part is on hand. It is impossible to have the parts flow 
to the assembly department in the order and quantities in which 
they are required unless there is a comprehensive system of 
purchasing which obtains the deliveries of the parts needed, 
or the material from which the parts are to be made, at the 
time necessary. 

The manufacturer of an excellent though much-derided 
small car was forced at one time to ship his cars to dealers 



ORGANIZING A PURCHASING DEPARTMENT 31 

minus hoods because the hoods were not on hand when required. 
The plant had a notably excellent planning system, but in this 
case failed to give proper conside ation to the ability of the 
vendor to live up to his contract. The purchasing agent must 
guard against the tendency on the part of vendors to accept 
attractive orders for a specified delivery date, when there is no 
possibility of them being able to meet their promises. 

If a purchasing department is to be organized so as to deliver 
material to the plant at the time at which it is required^ the 
following points must be provided for: 

(a) The purchasing department must be supplied with in- 
formation concerning the material wanted, and the exact date 
on which delivery is wanted, a sufficient time in advance of the 
delivery date required to enable them to obtain delivery on that 
date under the existing market conditions. 

(b) The purchasing department must keep the manufac- 
turing department posted in regard to the length of time in 
advance of requirements that material must be ordered to ob- 
tain the delivery wanted. 

(c) Where there is any doubt of the ability of the vendor 
to deliver the quantity required at the time required, an in- 
vestigation of the vendor should be made. 

(d) The requests for quotations and the purchase orders 
should be followed up systematically and persistently until 
the required goods have been received. 

It is evidently unfair for a concern to expect its purchasing 
agent to obtain the delivery of material in two months' time 
where the existing delivery time is four months, nor can he be 
expected to buy at the lowest prices on short-time delivery. 
Where a purchasing agent is forced to insist continually on 
exceptionally short deliveries, he becomes a pest to vendors. 
They may have to upset their manufacturing schedules to meet 
his demands, and if the vendors are crowded with orders he will 
be the first customer dropped as his business is undesirable. 

The purchasing agent should, as a routine matter, deliver to 
the manufacturing planning department at regular intervals a 
list showing the existing delivery time required for each of the 
various classes of material purchased. The manufacturing 



32 PLANNING PRODUCTION FOR PROFIT 

planning department is then able to arrange to plan its material 
requirements sufficiently in advance to allow ample purchasing 
time. If, after this information has been given, the purchasing 
agent is not given the length of time to purchase as stated on his 
list, and the goods are not received in time, the blame lies on the 
manufacturing planning department. 

All requisitions on the purchasing department should have 
on them the date on which the delivery of material must be 
made. If the time allowed to purchase is not sufficient, the 
purchasing agent should notify the author of the requisition 
stating when delivery can be expected. 

Where large contracts are made with vendors, an investiga- 
tion of the ability of the vendor to meet the deliveries specified 
should be made. Inquiries among the vendor's customers may 
show that due to carelessness or inadequate planning methods 
the vendor is chronically late in his deliveries. In some cases 
the vendor is willing to be penalized in case he fails to deliver 
on the dates specified. The law does not allow penalties in 
contracts but does allow reimbursing for losses sustained. A 
clause may be inserted in the contract stating that in case of 
failure to deliver on the date specified the vendor shall pay a 
certain sum each day until delivery is made, as and for liquid- 
ated damages. 

In times of good business vendors are seldom willing to sub- 
mit to penalties and other means must be taken to assure the 
desired deliveries. The author has seen a manufacturing con- 
cern accept a large contract which a later investigation showed 
the concern was not mechanically equipped to produce and 
could not be mechanically equipped to produce in the time 
given. 

The only means of protection against such vendors is to make 
an actual investigation of the plant capacity and organization 
of the concern in question. The purchasing agent is hardly 
fitted to make such an investigation and must arrange to have 
it made either by a competent man from his own concern or by 
an outside firm of production specialists. 

The follow-up system might be called the mainspring of 
the purchasing department, for satisfactory purchasing service 



ORGANIZING A PURCHASING DEPARTMENT 33 

from the manufacturing standpoint is almost wholly dependent 
on it. 

A follow-up system may be generally described as a means 
by which matters to be taken up at certain definite times are 
automatically brought to the attention of the person concerned 
at the time specified. The usual machinery for such a system 
is merely a drawer file indexed by dates. If a matter is to be 
brought up on a certain date it is filed under that date in this 
file. Each day the matter contained in the file for the date is 
taken out and given to those interested. In this way, on the 
date set the matter is automatically brought to the attention 
of those concerned. 

The first point to be followed up in purchasing is the obtain- 
ing of quotations. When a quotation is written for, a copy of 
the letter should be filed in the follow-up file by the date by 
which a reply can be expected. The length of time allowed 
naturally depends on the distance the letters have to travel, 
with an allowance for a legitimate time for the concern written to 
collect the information required and answer the letter. If no 
reply is received by the follow-up date another letter should be 
written. In many cases form follow-up letters can be used to 
advantage. 

All purchase orders should specify the dates on which ship- 
ment or delivery is required ; however, this is often not suflScient 
in itself to assure delivery on the date stated and concerns take 
further means to impress the importance of the delivery date on 
the vendor. An effective means is the inclusion of a clause on 
the order that the contract is not binding until the order has 
been acknowledged and the specified delivery date agreed 
to as part of the contract. Another harsher method is to 
state that, "We reserve the right to reject all goods not 
delivered on or before the date specified." These statements 
are generally printed in red so as to attract the attention of 
the vendor. 

Some concerns have obtained good results by inclosing an 
extra order copy to be returned as an acknowledgment, or by 
having an acknowledgment slip attached to the purchase order 
by perforations. Either of these acknowledgment forms should 



34 PLANNING PRODUCTION FOR PROFIT 

contain an agreement to the delivery date specified that must 
be signed. 

The purchasing agent will often obtain valuable information 
in regard to the best method of dealing with vendors from the 
sales manager of his concern. The methods by which favored 
customers obtain the best service from his concern will be the 
best methods for him to adopt in dealing with vendors. The 
service you obtain depends largely on the moral status you es- 
tablish. If they learn that when you set a delivery date you 
mean business you will have little trouble in obtaining service. 

The foregoing point is well illustrated by the customers of a 
certain foundry. One wrote rather truculent letters to which 
no attention was paid while a mild request from the other 
brought immediate action. It was explained to me that the 
truculent one was always in a rush but forgot all about the 
letter after writing it, and that they would not hear from him 
again if they delayed the order a month. However, when the 
mild one wrote it meant that he really needed the goods and 
they liked to oblige him. 

The success of the mild customer in obtaining what he wanted 
was due to his adequate methods of planning and following up 
his purchases. He allowed them a reasonable time for manufac- 
turing and delivering his orders, but if his goods were not de- 
livered on time they invariably heard from him. In the unusual 
cases in which he requested quick delivery they knew he 
actually needed the goods quickly and did their best to help him 
out. 

The easiest method of following up orders is to have an extra 
copy of the order written which can be used for filing in the 
foUow-up file. This copy should have spaces provided on it for 
making notations of all follow-up letters. 

The first matter to be followed up in regard to a purchase 
order is the receipt of the acknowledgment. If the acknowl- 
edgment is not received within a reasonable time a letter re- 
questing an acknowledgment should be written. After receiv- 
ing a few letters of this sort a vendor will take particular pains 
to acknowledge your orders promptly. 

The next follow-up point is the receipt of the invoice. If you 



ORGANIZING A PURCHASING DEPARTMENT 35 

have allowed yourself a margin of safety on your delivery date, 
that is, if you will not require the goods for say ten days after 
the delivery date set, and you are dealing with a reliable vendor, 
you can place your follow-up copy of the order at the date on 
which you should receive the invoice if the goods have been 
shipped when promised. 

If you will need the goods on the delivery date or are dealing 
with an unknown or unreliable vendor, the follow-up copy 
should be filed ahead of the delivery date, and on the follow-up 
date a letter should be written reminding the vendor of your 
order and the fact that you will need the goods promptly on the 
delivery date set. 

The purchasing agent will find it advisable to retain in his 
department two copies of the purchase order and also the 
purchase requisition. One copy of the order should be filed in 
the follow-up file, the other copy should be filed by purchase 
order number, and the requisition copy should be filed by the 
department ordering the goods and sub-filed by class of goods 
ordered. 

The purchase of goods for stock should be handled somewhat 
differently than the purchasing of other goods. 

By the usual method the stock clerk determines that addi- 
tional stock goods are needed and orders the goods purchased 
by sending a requisition to the purchasing agent. The author 
has found that it is more eflScient and requires less clerical labor 
if the stock records are maintained in the purchasing depart- 
ment. 

In this system the stock clerk is taken over by the purchasing 
department. When stores issues material on a requisition, 
instead of entering the material given out on the stock cards, 
it sends the requisitions to the purchasing department where 
the material is entered on the stock cards by the stock clerk. 
When the stock clerk finds that more material must be ordered, 
instead of writing a requisition he merely gives the stock card 
in question to the purchasing agent, who writes his purchase 
order from it. This saves the labor of writing requisitions. 
The constant following up of the purchasing department by 
stores for needed stock goods is also eliminated as the responsi- 



36 PLANNING PRODUCTION FOR PROFIT 

bility for maintaining that stock is shifted to the purchasing 
department. 

The entering of the stock requisitions on the stock cards keeps 
the purchasing department in constant touch with the quantity 
of stock on hand, and if there is an unusual run on any stock 
goods they are aware of it and are able to hurry in their pur- 
chases of the goods in question. 

For convenience in purchasing, space is provided on the 
stock cards for entering the full purchase specifications of the 
material they represent. There is also space at the top of the 
stock card for entering the names of the vendors from whom 
the goods may be purchased and their quotations. This saves the 
purchasing department the work of keeping a separate file con- 
taining these data, and gives them a ready record by products 
showing vendors, prices, specifications, last purchase price, date 
of purchase, quantity ordered, date ordered, date received, and 
also the quantity of the goods that is being used. 

As the purchasing department is responsible under the system 
outlined for maintaining an adequate amount of all stock goods 
on hand, it becomes its function to determine the minimum 
amounts of stock goods to be carried, and the amounts that shall 
be ordered at one time. The definition of the minimum amount 
of stock to be carried is the lowest amount to which the stock 
is to be allowed to fall before more goods are ordered. The 
minimum amount should be a quantity of goods sufficient to 
last until more goods can be purchased and delivered. This 
quantity is evidently dependent on the quantity of the goods 
which are being used in a given time and on the length of time 
which it takes to purchase more goods. 

To set the minimum amount for any item of stock goods the 
purchasing department determines first the length of time 
which will be required to purchase the goods and have them de- 
livered. When this has been determined the stock card is re- 
ferred to and the quantity of goods withdrawn from stock for an 
equal length of time is determined from the entries on the 
card. This amount, plus an additional amount for a margin 
of safety in case delivery is slow, is set as the minimum amount. 

The minimum amount when set is not final and must be 



ORGANIZING A PURCHASING DEPARTMENT 37 

changed whenever conditions change. Whenever entries are 
made on the stock card, the increase or decrease in the use of 
the material should be noted and, if considerable, the minimum 
amount to carry should be increased or decreased in proportion. 
When the time required to purchase certain classes of goods 
changes, the stock cards for that class of goods should be re- 
moved from their files and their minimum amounts should be 
changed to meet the new conditions. 

The amount of any stock item that should be purchased at 
one time is ordinarily set at a quantity equal to the minimum 
amount. When this is done the stock on hand and the invest- 
ment tied up in that stock are reduced to the lowest possible 
figure. There are, however, times when this procedure is not 
advisable such as where a decrease in price or a carload shipment 
can be obtained by a reasonable increase in the amount of the 
order. 

The method of determining when it is necessary to place an 
order for stock goods is as follows : When the stock clerk enters 
on the stock card the withdrawal of material and finds that the 
withdrawal reduces the amount remaining on hand to or below 
the minimum amount, he withdraws the stock card and passes 
it to the purchasing agent or his assistant who writes a purchase 
order for the amount to be ordered. The concern ordered from, 
the amount ordered, the price and the date are entered on the 
card, and it is returned to the stock clerk. When it is returned 
to its file a clip signal is attached to it and remains on it until 
the goods ordered have been received. By this means all stock 
cards on which there are outstanding purchase orders are dis- 
tinguished by a flag and can be more readily located. 

One of the greatest savings that can be made in purchasing 
is by purchasing to the exact specifications which are the best 
suited to the intended use to which the material is to be put. 
The fault of buying material of a far better quality than is neces- 
sary for the intended use is frequently met with. On the other 
hand, as great a loss is often sustained by buying materials of 
too low a quality. This results often in material waste, or in 
excessive labor cost in working up the material and fre- 
quently means dissatisfied customers. . 



38 PLANNING PRODUCTION FOR PROFIT 

In a silk-ribbon mill, what appeared to be an evident saving 
was made by buying an inferior quality of silk. Investigation 
showed that the delay to looms and loss of production from the 
additional breaking of threads with the inferior quality of silk 
as compared with the better quality amounted to many times 
the extra cost of the better grade of silk. In addition, this 
meant a better product and more satisfied customers. There 
were, however, more expensive grades of silk yet which investi- 
gation showed it did not pay to use as the additional strength 
and reduction in thread breakage would not pay the additional 
cost. 

In another case the author made a saving for a brewery by 
purchasing their coal to specification as to the heat units per 
pound and the allowable percentage of sulphur. Under the 
contract as drawn up a bonus was paid for coal better than 
specifications and rebate was given when the coal fell below 
specifications. The contract was made with the same company 
that had previously supplied an extremely poor quality of coal, 
and was closed at the same price that had been paid for the 
coal formerly supplied. 

For every use there is an exact quality of material which 
best serves the purpose. To find this quality, careful considera- 
tion must be given to cost as compared with reduction in waste, 
saving in manufacturing labor, and improvement in durability 
or appearance of the finished product. 

The more modern large plants are usually equipped with 
laboratories where the exact suitability of the various grades of 
material for the intended use are determined and purchase 
specifications drawn up. These laboratories also sample and 
test all incoming material and determine if it is the quality or- 
dered. The testing of purchased goods for quality is as im- 
portant as weighing or counting them, for you pay for quality 
as well as quantity. 

While the purchasing agent is usually not in a position to 
start and manage laboratories for the testing of goods, he can 
at least show the management the importance of such a step 
and the probable savings to be effected. 

A start in the right direction can be made by listing a number 



ORGANIZING A PURCHASING DEPARTMENT 39 

of the purchased articles and questioning their quality. As 
examples, pencils can be purchased from a cent a piece up. Is 
the quality you use one that gives satisfaction and is it the cheap- 
est that will give satisfaction.? Is the quality of paper used in 
letters and forms consistent with the use to which they are put.? 
An analysis of purchased goods will often prove surprising in 
showing up useless waste, and will lead to savings. 

Concerns frequently buy a variety of goods far greater than 
is necessary to meet all their requirements. This arises some- 
times from lack of standardization in the designing of their 
products and sometimes from allowing each department to 
order supplies in accordance with particular whims. The re- 
sults are a very much larger stock than is necessary, the ordering 
of goods in small quantities at higher prices, and often the turn- 
ing out of finished products for which it is diflScult for the cus- 
tomers to obtain repair parts. 

This inefficiency can also be readily shown up by analysis. 
Compare the types of certain articles used by the various de- 
partments. Is there any reason why they should not all use 
the same type.? Analyze any special articles or special sizes or 
qualities of articles that are purchased. Is there not a standard 
article that would answer the purpose just as well.? Analyze 
the variety of types, sizes, or qualities of a purchased article. 
Is there a sound reason why so many kinds are used, or is it just 
carelessness? An analysis of this sort will repay you many 
times the effort expended in savings effected. 

As has been before stated, the holding off of purchase or the 
purchase in advance because of the belief that prices are going 
up or down, is dangerous and closely akin to speculation. 
There are some keen judges of business conditions who may 
profit in this way but the average man would do well to leave 
the speculative side of purchasing strictly alone. However, 
there are legitimate opportunities for cheap purchasing at quo- 
tations below the market prices, and the purchasing agent 
should keep closely in touch with market conditions through 
the trade papers pertaining to the goods purchased. 

The price at which a purchasing agent is able to buy goods is 
dependent on the correct prices at the time of buying and the 



40 PLANNING PRODUCTION FOR PROFIT 

size of the market from which purchase is made. The more 
vendors a purchasing agent deals with the more Hable he is to 
be able to purchase at the cheapest price. Except where prices 
are standard there is one concern selling the article you want 
which is quoting the lowest price. If that concern is not on your 
list you will not purchase at the lowest price. 

Whenever an advertisement is seen of a concern selling any 
of the articles you buy, but not on your list, it should be added 
to your list and quotations written for. If they sell goods that 
you carry in stock, their name should be entered on the stock 
cards of the articles in question. If they sell goods purchased 
but not carried in stock, their name should be entered on the 
vendors' card for the articles in question. 



STOCK SYSTEMS, STOREKEEPING, AND IN- 
VENTORIES 

Details of a Successful Stores System 

System in a Factory Stock Department 

Monthly and Yearly Inventories 

The Perpetual Inventory in Practical Operation 

Standard Practice for Purchasing and Stores Departments 



DETAILS OF A SUCCESSFUL STORES SYSTEM 

BY CHARLES KIST 

IT IS the intention of this paper to deal only with the forms, 
books, and system employed by a certain large central 
generating station of 80,000 kw. capacity in keeping its stores 
accounting. The various accounts then at the end of the year 
are charged with their portion of the total storeroom expense. 

The daily routine of the stores department in this station is ' 
invariably as follows: 

Receiving purchased materials and supplies 

Issuing material and supplies for repair and maintenance 
work 

Issuing material and supplies for construction work 

Issumg material and supplies sold and to be charged to cus- 
tomers 

The storeroom is located on the ground floor and is so 
situated that the loading and unloading of wagons can be con- 
veniently carried on. A screen partition, havmg delivery win- 
dows and doors, is placed about the bins to keep those out of 
the storeroom who are not connected with the stores department. 
The storeroom is kept under lock and key when not in actual 
use. At night and on holidays, when the storekeeper is not in 
charge, the keys are turned over to the engineer or watchman, 
who makes a report of all material taken from the storeroom 
during such times. The storeroom at all times is kept clean 
and in order as far as possible. 

Bins, shelves, and racks, to accommodate the large variety 
of articles that are carried in stock, are arranged m sections and 
are so placed that they have ample room between them to allow 
the average-sized truck to pass through the aisle, thus allowing 
new material to be delivered to the respective bins. 

Wooden shelving and bins with unchangeable sections as well 
as sheet-kon shelving and bins with interchangeable sections 



44 



STOCKS, STORES, AND INVENTORIES 



are used; the latter have proved very satisfactory, because they 
can be adjusted to any size desired — an essential item at times, 
as material purchased for the central station changes from time 
to time. 

Iron, steel, piping, etc., are stored in special racks. Cement, 
fire clay, lumber, and fire brick are stored in separate sheds. 
All oils, except engine and cylinder oils, are stored in iron drums 
and tanks and are kept in a fire-proof room. Oils used directly 
for the prime movers are stored in special reservoirs located m 
the engine room; this oil is charged to a separate account num- 
ber and an inventory is taken once a month to distribute the 
charges. 

It is the duty of the storekeeper to see that the stock on hand 
is always suflBcient to preclude the possibility of unnecessary 
delay in any of the company's 
operations. A list of the mini- 
mum and maximum amount 
of material to be carried in 
stock is furnished the store- 
keeper by the heads of the 
departments, and when the 
amount of any material falls 
below the minimum quantity, 
the storekeeper issues to the 
purchasing agent a requisition. 
Form A, on which is stated 
what the material is required 
for, what it is to be charged 
to, and where it is to be 
delivered. 

Each requisition is num- 
bered consecutively and a 
duplicate of each is kept by 

the storekeeper for further reference. A full description of 
material needed is also stated on the requisition to insure 
getting the correct material. These blanks are put up in book 
form of fifty sheets each. 

After the material has been ordered by the purchasing de- 











Electric Light and Power Co. 

ACQUISITION FOR PURCHASE. 






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ll 






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FoKM A. Requisition for Purchase 



A SUCCESSFUL STORES SYSTEM 45 

partment, two duplicate copies of the original order, Form B, 
are forwarded to the storekeeper immediately, thus informing 
him from whom the material has been ordered, so he can be on 
the lookout for it. This applies not only to material ordered 
for stock, but also for any other material. 

After the material has been received, the storekeeper fills in 
the copy of the original order. Form B, in duplicate, giving such 



.^oo ^^ Juiy 21.1915, 

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2100-^ c« »-»^ PlUslurg, 

7-20-150^ >*^' . . <e* 

Kist.'^ ^o*' ^'"'^ American Express Co. 
stares,^" .>- 

Stock .-^ jt:^"" 

2045-*^ 

4. - Four Controlllne Switchee Stylo # 67963 A 

40 - Style 154255 Red Lens. 

40 - •• 154266 Creen Lena. 

80 - " 164275 Lafflp Rooeptaolee. 

160 • ^ 166096 Claea tube Foses 



OMoiWtjrtaO. 



Male fuO note of tB Mkea or dinugnl (oedi, er 
■ Ca In i ii t I «( tny ihorttge. Lid Ktul No«. of all Articla, 

D^-Ah. • n,^ . Boie»,BaiTeIs, Packaga or ReA oo back ol tbk Sbett 

THIS IS IMPORTANT, 



Pro. No- 



Sui, .ImW Fil.Eio.NUiI Wioa 
CUrja p.iJ $ . .: W.^ , ^*** ' 



Form B. Order for Material, Issited by the Purchasing Department 

information as desired, and sends one of the sheets to the general 
office daily, against which the invoices are checked. The other 
sheet is kept on file in the storekeeper's office and entries are 
made from it to the stock cards. These sheets are filed accord- 
ing to date received, and prove of great assistance to the store- 
keeper. 

Should but a partial delivery be made of goods ordered a 
partial report is made out on Form C and noted on Form B. 

A petty-cash fund is left with the storekeeper for the purpose 
of paying express charges, the amount paid being entered on 
Form B. 



46 



STOCKS, STORES, AND INVENTORIES 









Flpntrin 1 inht anH Pnwpr nnmnanv ..,- 1 


RECEIPT FOR MATERIAL. 

Parth»s!ne Dep«rtmen» ; ' '9' 

Following tnaterial received this day in good condition except as noted and added to Stores ai shown below . 


1 Stock 
Acct. NO. 


Quantity 


Pk«t. 


DESCRIPTION OF MATERIAL 


Fro-. 
























































































































. 






















NOTEr— Ttii* report mutt be mads In Ink or Indelible pencil. Report only one deiivenr on this ebcet. 
APPLIED ON ORDER APPROVED FOR QUALITY ; APPROVED FOn QUANTlTV: 








Cen-| Storekeeper or Head of OepU Storekeepar. 



Form C. Receipt for Material 

A card system is used in keeping a record of the material 
which is carried in stock. This serves as a perpetual inventory, 
and from it can be told at a glance what material is on hand, 
and what amount has been purchased, used, etc. 

When material is received, the storekeeper fills out a card. 
Form D, from his daily report. Form B, giving full description 
of the article, the date received, the order number, from whom 
purchased, and the amount received. After this card has been 
properly filled in, it is filed behind its respective guide card. 

A total of about 2,500 articles, listed under about 250 head- 



OKcnpiioft 


««mm 


Six* ACCl 




CiTtjrto 


' 


M.n,mum 




l.rt«o. 


■ 


M«TIfli*l BtCtlVEO 


MATEfiUL 0£L1v£RtO 






0., 


Oidtr a. 


r„m 


c...,„ 


o.„ 


UISL M 


To 


"»"*'' 










1 




























































































































































































































































































































J 



















_ 








_ 










_ _ 


_ 




.._ 


.^ 



Form D. 5 by 8 Inch Card for Record of Material Received and Delivered 



A SUCCESSFUL STORES SYSTEM , 47 

ings, is tlie average stock carried at all times at this particular 
store; this amount may increase during a period when special 
construction work is going on. 

When material is to be withdrawn from the storeroom, an 
order on the storeroom is made out in triplicate by the foreman 
in charge; this order blank is shown by Form E, and when filled 
out, gives the date issued, what the material is required for^ the 



THE ELECTRIC LIGHT AND POWER CO. 

ONBIR ON STORtKIlriR-ORiaiNati, 


N9 


3f501 


Plaase furnUh followine materlnl for — . ■■ — — — ■ ___ 


1 


i^S' 


iixiulre4 


OIMBIin-ION OF MMEHlAl 


LMHa. 


•I 


Cha/T*tc» 

- Accowfil No. 




AmowoA 1 










- 




















































- 


















































































































































4ppra<(*d: RmiIvwI br 








4NCHABOI. ' 1 


HAn-TTtIt een t* M ^filfJM to th« Auditor. 













FoKM E. Order on Storekeeper for Material 

quantity and description of the material required, and the 
charge account. 

A separate order is made out for the goods used on each job, 
so that as near as possible one charge-account number will ap- 
pear on each order. Care is exercised in describing the material 
so as to eliminate errors arising from lack of identity of goods 
for delivery and pricing. The account number is carefully se- 
lected and inserted by the foreman on the job, because he is in 
the best position to know where the goods are used. Account 
numbers should also be written distinctly. 

The storekeeper on receipt of the original, duplicate, and 
triphcate order, fills the order as completely as possible, but if 
he cannot fill it completely, he draws a line through the portion 
unfilled. He secures on the order the signature of the person 



48 STOCKS, STORES, AND INVENTORIES 

receiving the goods. Each item is then posted to the credit side 
of the stock card bearing the same lot number, and the entries 
include the date issued, the storekeeper's order number, and the 
quantity delivered. In this way a correct record can be kept 
of all material carried in stock. 

The original is then sent to the auditing department for 
pricing and auditing, and the triplicate is sent to the head of 
the department using the goods, the duplicate being kept by the 
storekeeper. The original, after being priced, is filed in a 
voucher bearing the same charge-account number, and at the 
end of the month the sum of the amounts of the orders filed in 
the voucher is charged against its particular charge account, to 
stock credit. The duplicate serves as the storekeeper's receipt, 
and the triplicate serves to inform the head of the department 
what material is used on different jobs. A quadruplicate leaf 
remains in the foreman's book. 

The head of the department glances over the material charged 
to the various jobs and reports all corrections to the auditing 
department, so that changes can readily be made before entries 
are made in the journal. 

When material is returned to the storeroom for credit, a credit 
slip in triplicate is made out on Form F by the foreman who 
returns it. This form is filled in with the date, the quantity and 
a description of the material returned, the value, and the credit 
account. After the material is checked by the storekeeper, 
both the original and the duplicate slips are signed by 
him. 

A card is made out for each item, unless one is already on 
hand, and the lot number, the description of the material re- 
ceived, the date, credit-slip number, the credit account, and the 
quantity received are entered upon it. 

After the stock-account number is put on the credit slip oppo- 
site each item, the original is sent to the auditing department, 
where it is priced and credited to the proper account. The 
duplicate serves to inform the head of the department of the 
material returned from the different jobs, and is examined by 
him so that he may report any corrections to the auditing de- 
partment before the entries are made in the journal. 



A SUCCESSFUL STORES SYSTEM 



49 



9upt. 






□ectric Light and Power Conpany 
MatertaT Retureed to Stores— Ori<ina) 


7457 




f«I!o.iiig lulvlil tmmfj ctarjd ml kit Ua dif hu rtluriied to Stom 
From 




Charge 

Account Qoanttty 
No. 


DESCRIPTION OF MATERIAL 


Vduf to b? 
given by^Supt. 


UnU 
Value 


Credit Account 
No. 


Amount 


V 


































1 






















































































































































































































































Relunic 


>^' Ipirmil: 




















Stpl Slorehe|»r 





Form F. Record of Material Returned to Stores 

These blanks are also put up in book form of 50 sheets each, 
the triplicate remaining in the book. 

When material is sold, the transaction is recorded on Form G, 
to which is attached the signed dray ticket, space being reserved 



ELECTRIC LIGHT AND POWER CO. 

ComfitroUer and Auditor: 

Charte (or Maierial Delivered fo 



Order No.. 



DESCRIPTtON or MATERUL 



ClffiDIT FOE MATERIAL RETURNED 



i Maltrial Sold (rom Stock— Orijinal 



11725 * 



ScUisg Pricet ApproTcd. 



Form G. Record of Material Sold 



50 



STOCKS, STORES, AND INVENTORIES 



ELECTRIC LIGHT AND POWER COMPANY. ffO J5|8 

MATERIAL RETURNED FOD CREOIT-ORICINAk. 
PURCHASmO AGENT: 


'The fotlowmc matflrl&T pravlouslv purchued hat b«en reiurned to 








Va. FRT.-PREPAIO-COLLECr 


~ 


' ' [ 


DCUCRirTION OF MATCniAI. 


LOT ««. 


iieT 


DISCOUNT 


AHOWHT 1 


















I 






















' 










' ' 




































































Thtir Ord 






































sisNEo necEiPT ATraeHEo. 





FoemH. Recobd for the Return of Material Previously Purchased 

to fill in the name and address of the concern or person to whom 
material is sold or returned. After the items are posted to the 
credit side of the stock card, it is sent to the auditing depart- 
ment for billing. 

A separate form, Form H, is used when material is returned 
for any reason. This is filled out and handled in the same 
manner as Form G. 

The success of any system rests entirely upon the personal un- 
tiring efforts of the storekeeper in seeing that certain essential 
rules pertaining to the operation of a storeroom are enforced. 
He must insist at all times on the proper papers being made 
out correctly before he delivers material or accepts any 
that is returned into stock for credit. He should from time 
to time consult with the heads of different departments as 
to the advisability of replenishing stock that may have 
run below the minimum amount, so as to insure against 
purchasing material which may prove useless under new 
conditions of the market or of construction. The department 
heads should also furnish the storekeeper with a minimum 
and maximum list of material to be carried in stock to serve 
him as a guide. 

As this is a perpetual inventory, it has many advantages. 



A SUCCESSFUL STORES SYSTEM 51 

It gives an exact knowledge of the stock on hand, thereby 
enabling the storekeeper to purchase intelligently. Errors or 
theft can readily be discovered in time to prevent any embar- 
rassmg shortages. By no means the least advantage is that it 
permits an accurate handhng of the stores. 



SYSTEM IN A FACTORY STOCK DEPARTMENT 

BY G. H. CULVER 

THE absolute necessity of a properly organized stock de- 
partment is to-day acknowledged by all large manufac- 
turers. There should be one place in every factory 
where information can be quickly obtained as to quantities of 
stock on hand, and consumption over any period and the value 
of the materials which are being used. The stock department 
should be able to supply this information. 

Stock material in any factory represents dollars and cents, 
and these materials should be protected and accounted for in 
as accurate a manner as the money handled by the treasurer's 
department. The departments in the factory should not carry 
the stock needed for their own use. The foremen of every de- 
partment should give their attention to production — quality 
and quantity. In the same factory different foremen might 
have different methods of handling their stock. In the same 
factory, certain materials are used in all departments. The 
stock department, knowing what each department uses, is in 
a position to buy in quantities, and from the average consump- 
tion is able to fix a minimum figure. 

The stock department should be responsible for the proper 
ordering, receiving, storing, and disbursing of all materials. In 
view of the fact that different conditions control different in- 
dustries, and the quantity and kind of materials used by differ- 
ent manufacturers vary so greatly, it would be very difficult 
to install a ready-made stock department in any company. It 
should be developed from the experience and nature of the busi- 
ness. The system as here outlined is one which has been gradu- 
ally built up with the view of ordering, receiving, storing, and 
disbursing materials in the best possible manner for one of the 
largest manufacturing companies in the country. Each of the 
divisions of the department work will be taken up in detail. 

52 





Ch«rKe ...f „ „..Oat« 


QUANTnV 




















S, e. Co., Factory A „ 



Fig. 1. Authority for Ordering 



SYSTEM IN A STOCK DEPARTMENT 53 

Everything needed for equipment and production is ordered 
by the stock department, and is charged either to stock or to 
some particular account in the factory. The order is charged 
to a factory account only when the material ordered is, upon 
receipt, to be applied directly to that account. 

All requisitions from superintendents, foremen, and depart- 
ment heads for machinery, repair parts, materials, and supplies 
not regularly carried in stock 
should be plainly written, with 
as complete a description as 
possible, on a blank like that 
shown in Figure 1. After this 
requisition has been properly 
O. K.'d by the superintendent, 
it is sent to the storekeeper. 
This requisition should show 
the date on which the supplies are needed. 

All materials which are carried in stock are under the juris- 
diction of the storekeeper, and should be ordered on a minimum 
basis. The minimum figure should be decided by the rate of 
consumption, closeness to source of supply, storage facilities, 
and price conditions. This minimum figure should show on the 
stock card of every commodity carried by the stock department, 
and just as soon as suflScient issues are made to bring the stock 
on hand down to the minimum figure, orders should be written 
by the stock department for more material in such quantities 
as may be decided by the same conditions which govern the 
minimum figure. 

The orders as shown in Figure 2 are typewritten, four copies 
of an order being made at one time, each bearing the same 
number. After the order is written by the stock department 
showing detailed specifications and account to which material 
is to be charged, three copies of the order are sent to the purchas- 
ing agent, who upon receipt locates the material as called for, 
and after satisfying himself as to price and delivery, fills in 
the name of the concern to whom the order is mailed, and the 
date on the three copies he receives. He then mails one copy, 
retains one copy, and returns one copy to the stock department. 



54 STOCKS, STORES, AND INVENTORIES 

so that the latter knows where the order was placed and when. 
After the concern, name, and date of purchase are entered on 
the copy of the order, bearing the same number which was held 
in the stock department, of the two copies it now holds one is 
filed numerically and one alphabetically, to await the receipt 
of the material. When the order calls for material not regu- 
larly carried in stock, the order is indexed on a card under the 
name of the material ordered, so that whether the material 
is stock or not, quick reference can always be had by name of 
material, order number, or concern name. 

Regularly, once each week, all unfilled orders are taken out 
of the file, and inquiry made of the purchasing department as 
to date of delivery. In writing the four copies of the order 
in the stock department it is the practice always to show in the 
margin of the order the name of the concern from whom the last 
order for the same material was received, together with the or- 
der number. This information assists the purchasing agent in 
placing the order. Any remarks as to quality, poor delivery on 
last order, or suggestions to the purchasing department, are 
made in the margin, unless they are of such a nature that 
correspondence is required. 

When satisfactory delivery has been made of the material 
called for on the purchase order, and the order is considered 
complete, one copy is placed in a "filled" order file, numerically, 
and one under the name of the concern supplying the material. 
It will be seen from the above that it is an easy matter at all 
times to refer to orders filled or unfilled. 

The materials ordered, as stated above, are either charged to 
stock or directly to the account to which the material is to be 
applied upon receipt, such as a machine for a definite operation 
or an instrument which is to be used on one class of work. 
When the invoice is received, it is checked in the purchasing 
department against the purchase order, and the charge as shown 
on the purchase order is posted to the invoice. When the 
invoice is paid, the proper account is charged with the amount 
of the invoice. The copy of the purchasing order which is 
returned to the stock department showing concern name and 
date, when calling for stock materials, is entered on stock card 




I ! 



I 




OrJtr Mo. A 8787 
NATIONAL CARBON COMPANY 



fitett lurnith la et/Bji fuotatioit ei 



A 8787 



!:Br.'3i^i'iM^5S)Eff;aft?S3SKaHSa?Sa^ 





IN9U Pica I 


_«M^S.. 1 




■ 1 ■' 




§ 


1 




1 




iV 


1 J 


I,. 




A 




« 


1 










L_ ' 


5 
i 




























































2 




















































































































1 












1 1 






1 




1 














1 






.... 






» «,^W'»'—-»w- ««*«*« «-«-;#*«• 




"• 




ri 






■wi 




"T^aTuc^w 






1 

i 


- 


^ 




»S5i 


^ »!»4iit$fiio ja iioitito/it joal to to i/$!iunj atti/j 


_ 


— 






:s;s. 



A.MVaWOD KOaMVO TVNOIXVM 



AMVdIMOO MOSMVO TCVJCOLLVX 



Fig. 2. Face and Back of Order Blank 



SYSTEM IN A STOCK DEPARTMENT 



55 



shown in Figure 3. This stock card has many valuable features. 
A stock card is made out for all regular stock materials. A 
complete description is shown on the card, the minimum is 
shown, and location of the stock, also the blue-print number if 
the article is covered by drawing specifications, the name of 
the concern supplying the material, the order numbers on which 



MINIMUM 


Olli A/» 


% 


Arrr TO oKDOt 




Unit 


OoMcerfTAf 1 


a«?72 


O/foeff 


QoMfirry 


OST 


DfSGT 


flMT/NU, 


r/f'r 


Unrr 
Cost 


t/ETCOST 


Rec'o 


/SSUEO 


^ssueo 


Om hand 


/\»'t 1 












































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































««*. "i*J 





































Fig. 3. Stock Card 
The word "minimum" on the original is printed in red 

the material is received, the quantities issued, to whom the 
material is issued, the stock on hand, and the cost of the stock. 
By referring to this, quick reference is obtained to previous pur- 
chase orders by number and concern, the prices paid for previous 
receipts and discounts, the quantities ordered, and the con- 
sumption over any desired period. The card also shows how 
much stock has been issued to different accounts, and a per- 
petual inventory is shown with the amount extended. 

The stock department receives all materials. When any or 
all material is received on a purchase order, both copies of the 
order are taken out of the unfilled file, and the material checked 
directly against the order, to see that it conforms to the specifi- 
cations. As the storekeeper has no direct dealings with the 
people supplying materials on purchase orders, unless requested 



56 



STOCKS, STORES, AND INVENTORIES 



by the purchasing agent, all irregularities regarding receipts, 
such as shortages, poor quality, or material not up to specifica- 
tions in any way, are immediately reported in writing to the 
purchasing agent. Everything received is reported daily on a 
form (Figure 4), typewritten, giving date, quantity, description, 
order number, from whom received, carrier, and charges. 



DAILY REGISTER OP GOODS REGEIVED. 1 

Shipping Lot ■<*■ ■ 


Inspection Lot _ — 


- - - — Factory | 


gunm 


Descnption 


Miaii 


nainMiBaia 


CU la. 


oonaan 


tuma 
















-. J 








1 



Fig. 4. Daily Report of Goods Received 
A green form printed and ruled exactly like this original is used for the carbon duplicate 

This daily report of goods received must be in the hands of the 
purchasing agent not later than noon of the day following the 
receipt of the material. This is necessary in order that invoices 
may be passed and discounts taken. The report is written 
in duplicate, one copy being retained in the stock department. 
All stock material received on this daily report is posted directly 
on the stock cards. Material ordered which is not for stock is 
delivered immediately, and receipt obtained on the copy of the 
order. The stock material is checked carefully for weight, 
count, and quality, and if satisfactory is placed in stock. Care 
is always taken so to place new stock that the old stock will be 
exhausted before new stock is issued. Full details of the re- 
ceipt as regards date, weight, count, and conditions are entered 



SYSTEM IN A STOCK DEPAKTMENT 



57 



Suft'sO.IC.. 
Sfiprovad — 



Car Ho. 
Amt. 



^^^^^ OnlerNo.r< 8477 

MOTt 9»ea m/M»ta m bill 

NATIONAL CARBON COMPANY 



acu. -moHONt ntoac 4ot. 
cuY. cchthal I ia«. 

MAIL AOORUS. BOX 400. 



COB. WEST MADISON AYE. AND tWtli ST, N. W. 

Clewland, Ohio, 



Phase furnish as at fOVPU"''f<'^'> *' 



juidship ifia 






1= 






NATIONAL CAKBOM CO. 



MARK PK8S. 



Fig. 5. Purchase Order Blank 



on' the reverse side of the purchase order (Figure 5), in the space 
provided. All stock received as soon as accepted is marked 
with identification tag (Figure 6). On freight, express, and 



INQUIRIES PROMISED SHIPPED VIA 


REMARKS:- ' 




> 
z 

r 

i 

i 
Z 


» 


1 


2 






3 






4 




5 




6 




7 




8 













































































































































































































































Fig. 5. Reverse of Purchase Order Blank 



DESCRIPTION 


BOX) 
No. f 


aUANTITT 


FBOM 


DATE 


ORDER 1 


CHECKED BT 


REMARES:- 






'■"""'••'■'•" 



58 STOCKS, STORES, AND INVENTORIES 

local deliveries, care is taken that signature is not given for any 
damaged material unless this damage is so noted on the delivery 
bill. All breakage or damage in transit, local, express, carload 
or less than carload freight, is immediately called to the atten- 
tion of the purchasing agent 
in a letter, a copy of which is 
sent to the traffic department, 
in order that inspection and 
adjustment may be promptly 
made. 

No material is placed in 
stock until properly accepted 
as above. Stock is kept clean 

Fig. 6. Identification Tag and orderly, and stored as 

near the point of consumption 
as possible. All sections are lettered, and bins and drawers 
numbered. The location (building, section, and bin) is 
shown on each stock card. The nature of the material of 
necessity controls the method of storing and handling, espe- 
cially in the case of oils, chemicals, and large-bulk stocks. 

No material is issued by the stock department except upon 
properly signed stores orders, which are the same form as 
shown in Figure 1. A list of those authorized to sign stores 
orders is in the hands of the storekeeper and no unauthorized 
signature is accepted. The stock department delivers all ma- 
terials to the departments throughout the factory. Each 
morning at 7:00 o'clock the telephone order clerk in the stock 
department telephones each foreman in the factory and inquires 
if there is anything needed that morning. A record of these 
telephone orders is made on a duplicating machine, one copy 
of the order being given to the stock boy who collects the ma- 
terial. He exchanges the copy he has for a stores order which 
properly describes the material. This stores order is given to 
the telephone order clerk by the stock boy, who compares it 
with his original telephone order for final check. During the 
day if the foreman of any department finds that he needs ma- 
terial which was not ordered that morning, he telephones the 
order clerk in the stock department and the material is sent to 



SYSTEM IN A STOCK DEPARTMENT 59 

him. Monday morning the stock department dehvers oils and 
waste to the entire factory, in sufficient quantity to last the 
entire week. By making these regular trips, and keeping the 
factory supplied, many expensive delays are avoided. Work- 
men are not running back and forth to the stock department, 
and machinists and carpenters are kept on the job. Since the 
installation of this delivery system, the men have gradually 
learned to anticipate their wants. Very often even the wants 
of the mechanical departments on repair work can be antici- 
pated far enough ahead to avoid delay. 

The stores orders, as received for materials issued, are posted 
to the stock cards the morning following the date of issue. At 
the time of posting each order, the entry clerk compares the 
balance remaining in stock with the minimum figure, and as 
soon as that figure is reached, the card is removed from the file 
to the check box, and the stock immediately checked against the 
card (inventoried). By this method of inventory, the most 
active stocks and those used in the largest quantities are the 
ones which are inventoried most often. It will be seen that this 
is much better than inventorying the stock only once a year, 
or once in six months. 



MONTHLY AND YEARLY INVENTORIES 

BY H. A. RUSSELL 

THE commendable habit of building batteries of storage 
bins provides a means of keeping the floor space clear of 
the various castings, steel parts, etc., and also assists 
materially in the taking of the yearly inventory. With only 
one kind of casting in each bin, the counting is simplified. It 
is not necessary to sort out the castings first as is often the case 
when the different items are scattered over the floor. 

Contrary to what a great many people may think, the hardest 
work connected with the taking of the yearly inventory is not 
the counting and weighing but the planning, in the first place, 
and the determining of what the correct values should be so 
that the total amount of the inventory in dollars and cents will 
reflect a fair market value. This article is based on the method 
of taking a yearly inventory, and keeping a perpetual inventory 
of many thousands of parts, in the rough state, partly finished, 
and finished, in a factory manufacturing a large line, in fact 
many lines, of farm implements and heavy machinery for do- 
mestic and export trades. No effort has been made to show the 
monthly values of the thousands of items on hand, but, from 
the information which the records afford, it would only be nec- 
essary to go a step or two further and a complete monthly in- 
ventory would be the result. So far it has only been worked out 
on the monthly basis for the finished product. The entire pro- 
duct is divided into seventeen classifications. On the third 
day of each month the report shows, for each classification, and 
as a total of all classifications, the quantity and cost value of all 
completed implements and machines on hand, so that shipment 
can be made within a few hours after receipt of the customer's 
order. 

In planning this system there were four separate groups to 
be taken into consideration. It was considered necessary that 

60 



MONTHLY AND YEARLY INVENTORIES 61 

the final summary of the yearly inventory should indicate the 
value of each of the following subdivisions: materials, goods in 
process, finished product, supplies. It was also necessary to 
total the weights of certain items, such as gray-iron castings, 
malleable-iron castings, boiler plate, etc., so that there could be 
a quick comparison made with the totals of previous mventories. 
In the instance of certain items, such as boiler tubes, the com- 
parison should be made on the basis of the total number of feet 
of each diameter tube. It is not a hard matter to arrive at 
fair cost figures for the items of material, finished product, and 
supplies. The fourth item is not so easy, as an item of goods 
in process may have only one or two operations completed at 
the time of taking the inventory, while a similar part may be 
further advanced and even finished, ready to assemble with 
other parts. Again there may be a group of parts, such as an 
engine cylinder complete with cylmder head, steam-chest cover, 
jacket, studs, etc. 

There are twenty-four separate departments in this factory, 
and as stated before, the product is divided mto seventeen classi- 
fications. ^ Some of the departments turn out parts for all of the 
classifications. In other departments only certain classifica- 
tions are manufactured. It was therefore necessary to plan 
carefully, so that no item would be overlooked or included in 
the incorrect classification, no matter m what division of the 
factory it might be found. Units of the finished product are 
constantly progressing from one department to another. They 
may be found in storage bms or on trucks. Many similar items 
were found in different departments, some finished ready to 
assemble, others partly finished, and others in the rough state. 
Parts in the rough state were treated as material; parts finished 
and partly finished as goods in process. All of these facts are 
mentioned merely to show that the workmg out of the inven- 
tory to a logical conclusion was not an easy matter. The result 
indicates each year that approximately 40,000 separate items 
have been counted or weighed, listed, and valued. 

A month or so before the inventory period instructions are 
sent out to each of the foremen, assistant foremen, and office 
men. Several weeks before the actual takmg of the inventory 



62 STOCKS, STORES, AND INVENTORIES 

starts a meeting is held and all attend who have received a copy 
of the instructions. The matter is discussed thoroughly and 
memories freshened. Naturally we get better ideas each year. 
When the time arrives the factory is divided into fifteen differ- 
ent sections, several of the smaller departments being incorpo- 
rated in one section. In several of the larger departments it is 
necessary to have two sections. In order that there may be 
no confusion as to where a division of a large department stops, 
a broad white line is painted on the floor. During the inventory 
period, which usually lasts about four days, the writer spends 
his entire time passing from one group of workers to the next, 
answering questions, simplifying the work when possible, seeing 
that all are supplied with inventory blanks and in general en- 
deavoring to have the reports in such shape that the cost de- 
partment will have the minimum amount of work to do when 
the reports are all in and ready to be valued. 

In the fifteen groups there are about fifty workers in all, some 
counting, others weighing, checking, and filling in the blanks. 
Some groups consist of two men, others have up to seven. The 
counters went first, the writers and checkers following from one 
to two hours later. The factory is closed during the entire 
period as it would be practically impossible to secure accuracy 
otherwise. 

The following general instructions are sent out to each party 
interested: 

INVENTORY METHODS AND INSTRUCTIONS 

We will have the following nine divisions to consider in taking the inven- 
tory. 

1. Materials in stockrooms. 

2. Supplies in stockrooms. Both of the above will be inventoried from 
the stockroom cards. 

3. Materials outside of stockrooms. 

4. Supplies outside of stockrooms. 

5. Goods in process of manufacture. 

6. Inventory of finished product. 

7. Repair parts in repair stockroom. 

8. Lumber outside of factory. 

9. Lumber in factory, which may be material or goods in process, as the 
case may be. 



MONTHLY AND YEARLY INVENTORIES 63 

We will first consider materials and supplies in stockrooms. The stock- 
room keepers will report as heretofore, that is, the office will make up the in- 
ventory for stockrooms from the record cards. These cards must be com- 
plete and up to the minute, so that a list of all the items and quantities can 
be made. These cards will be caUed for on December 26th. (See also separate 
memorandum to stockroom keepers.) 

Materials outside of the stockrooms, and which are not included in the in- 
ventory of finished product, and which are not goods in process, i.e., items 
upon which no productive labor has been applied. Please note that trucking 
and handling are not productive labor. These items will be reported on the 
regular inventory blank. 

Supplies outside of the stockroom consist of items that have been requisi- 
tioned but which are not intended as a part of the product, such as planer and 
lathe tools, files, chisels, twist drills, etc. 

Goods in process of manufacture, or materials on which productive labor 
has been applied and which will later become part of the finished product. 
The value of these parts must be determined by adding to the value of the 
material the amount that has been paid for productive labor. It is therefore 
essential that the last operation be reported, when the part is not completely 
finished. The inventory value will vary according to the amount of labor that 
has been applied. Where several parts are grouped together there will be 
added the cost of assembling. Do not forget to include in the list bolts, 
washers, or rivets. 

Inventory of finished product. This will be attended to by the production 
department as heretofore. Great care must be exercised that the items 
which the production department include in their report are not duplicated 
on other reports. For instance, the woodwork for a cornsheller may be in the 
warehouse and the ironwork in the storage bins. The production depart- 
ment will include in the finished inventory report the number of complete 
cornshellers that can be shipped, the surplus parts will be treated as goods in 
process. The production department will therefore deduct from each inven- 
tory slip the quantity of pieces needed to match up their report of complete 
cornshellers and the balance shown on the slip will be treated by the cost de- 
partment in the same manner as any others goods-in-process item. 

Repair parts in repair stockroom will be reported by Mr. , giving the 

quantity, description, material name, and classification. 

All lumber, that is, boards, planks, or dimension stock will be reported by 
the lumber inspector. Dimension stock will be reported by grade, width, 
thickness, and length, also by quantity of each different size. Calculations 
will be made in the office. Boards and planks will be reported by number of 
board feet and grade, also by the name of the wood. This paragraph refers 
only to material in the lumber yard. 

Lumber in the factory will be treated as material, providing no productive 
operation has taken place, otherwise lumber will be treated as goods in 
process. 



64 STOCKS, STORES, AND INVENTORIES 

Brass, bearing metal and hydraulic metal casting weights will be furnished 
by the production department. Also the weights of all gray iron castings. 

Malleable and steel casting weights will be furnished by the purchase de- 
partment. This same department will calculate the weight of all steel bars 
and plow steel slabs, also I-beams, channels, angles, tees, etc., and plates and 
sheets, whether black or galvanized. 

The above instructions were general and further instructions 
were sent to each department. To the foundry was sent a list 
of everything that could possibly be in that department and 
which would affect the inventory. As it would not be prac- 
ticable to weigh the different grades of sand that would be in 
the bins, the memorandum gave the weight of the last carload 
of sand that had been unloaded, of each grade, and the foreman 
estimated the quantities on hand. 

The departmental inventory report (Figure 1) is used in all 
parts of the factory, excepting in the foundry, stockrooms, and 

lumber yard. The illustration 
shows one of the reports as it 



DEPARTMKNTAb INVENTORY REPORT 



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would be received in the office. 
The reverse side is used when 
there are two or more parts 
attached. All of the slips are 
numbered, starting with 1 and 
going up to 40,000. They are 

Fig. 1. Departmental Report proportioned to each depart- 

ment before the actual work 
starts, so that the numbers will run consecutively for each. Every 
numbered slip must be accounted for at the wind-up. This does 
away with the possibility of some of the slips being lost. No 
more than one item can be reported on a slip, but one item may 
consist of a group of parts, as for instance the engine cylinder with 
cylinder head, etc. To quote from the departmental instruc- 
tions, as regards the proper method of filling in the report slip: 

In filling in the inventory slips you will record the following information: 

1. Department number. 

2. Classification number of parts. 

3. Description. 

4. Quantity, that is, the number of pieces by actual count. 



MONTHLY AND YEARLY INVENTORIES 65 

5. Size. This will include width, thickness, and length, if for a flat piece, 
or diameter or square and length, if for a round piece. 

6. Pattern number. This includes the designating letter, if any. 

7. Material and grade. If steel, report whether soft or hard, plow or 
spring. If lumber, report whether oak, pine, hemlock, etc. If a casting, 
report whether gray iron, steel, malleable, brass, bronze, aluminum, or babbitt 
metal. 

8. See memorandum on weights. 

9. Total weights, these will be calculated by the oflBce. 

10. Place check mark behind finished, partly finished, rough, as the case 
may be. When the piece is only partly finished, report the last operation by 
name. 

11. Material and labor costs will be filled in by the cost department. 

12. Write in any remarks or information which you believe will be of assis- 
tance to the cost department. Sign your initials to each slip. 

Also the following memorandum is sent to the stockroom 
keepers : 

The stockroom inventories will be divided into two groups, namely, 
materials and supplies. The office will make up the inventories for the stock- 
rooms from the daily record cards. There are a few items which are not car- 
ried on these cards. Please report these on the separate slips of paper which 
will be sent to you at the proper time. There are also certain items which 
are stored outside of the stockrooms but which are carried on the stockroom 
record cards. Please fasten a large tag to these items and state thereon that 
the item will be reported by the stockroom keeper. Otherwise we will have a 
duplication of certain items. 

The memorandum which is sent to each foreman is as com- 
plete as it is possible to make it and, of course, varies with each 
department. It required considerable thought and knowledge 
to work out the basis for the original memoranda. To show 
how complete these memoranda were and are, the one which is 
sent to the boiler department each year will be given in its 
entirety. 

FOREMAN OF BOILER SHOP 

You will report the following materials, supplies, and goods-in-process items 
in your department as follows: 

Boiler plate, material. Report quantity and grade and size of each plate 
with thickness. 



66 STOCKS, STORES, AND INVENTORIES 

Tank steel, material. Report quantity of each size plate, with thickness. 

Boiler plate, goods in process. Report quantity and grade of each size 
plate, with thickness, also each productive operation. 

Boilers, goods in process. This item will cover boilers that are not com- 
pleted. Report actual plate sizes, grades and thicknesses in each boUer not 
finished, approximate weight of rivets, gray-iron castings, stays, braces, mal- 
leable castings, boiler tubes by quantity, size, and length; also aU labor on the 
individual parts and on the boiler itself. 

Tank steel, goods in process. Report quantity of each size plate and 
thickness and actual productive labor, according to classification. 

Rivets. Total weight of each diameter. 

Tubes. Quantity of each size and diameter of steel tubes. Also of char- 
coal iron tubes. 

Punches and dies in stock or on the floor. Report these as imused, partly 
used, or (practically) worn out. 

Castings, gray-iron, goods in process. Quantity, description, symbol num- 
ber and classification. 

Castings, gray-iron, goods in process. Report by quantity, description, 
symbol number, classification, and the amount of productive labor in your de- 
partment or the name of the last productive operation. 

Twist drills. Quantity of each size; specify whether high speed or carbon 
steel. Report condition the same as for punches and dies. 

Staybolts. Quantity, size, and length. 

Braces. Quantity, size, and length. Advise whether dead soft steel or 
pressed steel. 

Manhole saddles, complete. Quantities and size. 

Pipe flanges. Quantity and size. 

Staybolt taps. Quantity, size, and length. Report condition. 

Fireclay. Estimate weight. 

Firebrick. Quantity. (Boiler-setting quality.) 

Firebrick for cornish boiler linings. Quantity of sets for each size 
boiler. 

Gaskets, material. Quantity and size. 

Gaskets, tubular manhole. Weight. 

Wire netting for cornish boiler linings. Number of lineal feet. 

Castings, malleable iron. Quantity, description, symbol number, and 
classification. 

Angles, channels and I-beams. Quantities, size, and length, weight per foot 
or thickness of web for I-beams and channels. 

Soft coal. Estimate weight. 

Pea coal. Estimate weight. The last carload weighed 34 gross tons. 

Chisels, calking tools, rivet sets, stay bolt sets. Quantity, size, and condi- 
tion. 

N. B. Include all tank and boiler quality plates and templates which may 
be used later in the product. 

















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, ,„,. INVENTORY RECORD ^"""^ '^"'^ 
January tsr. 1©16> ,^0, . ■ ^ , 

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Fig. 2. Sheet for Loose-Leaf Binder for Inventory Slips 



MONTHLY AND YEARLY INVENTORIES 67 

Further instructions were sent to each man who would be in 
charge of each of the inventory groups somewhat as follows: 

DEPABTMENT 6, FIRST DIVISION 

Mr. T will have charge of this division, and be assisted by Mr. W- 



and two or more helpers. This group will inventory everything on the first 
floor of Dept. 6, starting with the contents of the north shed and continuing 
southwardly to the broad white line on the floor. Inventory slips numbered 
from 1 to 3,500 inclusive will be used in this division. Even though you do 
not use all of the slips they must be left in this division, so that when the 
slips are later gathered none will be overlooked. This will prevent confusion. 
If the slip accidentally should not have the full information required, the num- 
ber will serve to locate the proper division and furnish the opportunity for 
securing the information later. 

When the inventory slips are all gathered, they are sorted 
according to department into the seventeen different classifica- 
tions for goods in process, also for supply items and for mate- 
rials. The material slips are sorted, as far as possible, according 
to the actual material. For instance, all items of gray-iron 
malleable, steel castings, bar steel, etc., are kept together, so 
that when the inventory is completed, and the weight of the in- 
dividual items totaled, there will be a means of quick compari- 
son with the total weights as shown by previous inventories. 

Figure 2 shows the large loose-leaf binder sheet which is used 
in listing the inventory slips after the value of the material 
(and labor, if any) has been figured. When a labor item is 
involved, a percentage is added which represents the average 
overhead charges for that particular department. This per- 
centage average is made up from the records which extend back 
for several years. The inventory record sheets are numbered 
from 1 up for each department. The departments are kept 
separate by cloth-tabbed mdex sheets. These tabs bear the 
number of the department. 

Figure 3 shows the final summary sheet. A means of having 
a three-year comparison is furnished. Here we see the method 
of comparing the value and quantities of each item, as well as 
the total value, year by year. None of the figures that are 
given are actual but will serve for the purpose of mdicating the 



68 



STOCKS, STORES, AND INVENTORIES 



method of filling in the different forms. The cost of the gray- 
iron castings includes the labor of delivering them to the differ- 
ent departments. The pound value is worked out carefully by 
the cost department. 

Figure 4 shows the monthly inventory of finished product. 
This record also serves for the yearly inventory, as the informa- 



FINAL INVENTORY SUMMARY AND COMPARISON 




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MONTHLY AND YEARLY INVENTORIES 



69 



tion required is the same in both instances. The inventory- 
value is, of course, ascertained from the cost-department 
records. 



Comparative Monthly Inventory and Record of Machines Built 


Jan 1st 


Feb. 1st 


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Fig. 4. Sheet for Monthly Inventory of Finished PRODtrcr 



70 STOCKS, STORES, AND INVENTORIES 

Figure 5 shows the production-operation cost-record card 
which serves several purposes. It furnishes the means of having 
a perpetual inventory of all items of goods in process. Further 
than this, it shows the labor value of each and every item on 
which the first or subsequent productive operation, or operations, 
has or have been performed. These cards are used in keep- 
ing track of thousands of items of goods in process. At the end 
of the year there will naturally be some discrepancies between 
the amounts shown on the cards and the amount reported 
through the inventory slips. The proper corrections are then 
made. If the inventory slip should indicate that there were ten 
A219 crankshafts on which the third operation had been com- 
pleted, and another slip would state that five of these crankshafts 
had only the first operation completed, the cost of the productive 
labor, in either instance, can be ascertained from this card. 

A great deal of preliminary work can be gotten out of the way 
before the real inventory work starts. Figure 6 shows the card 
which is used in all the stockrooms for the perpetual inventory 
of all the items in each room. A week or so before the inven- 
tory period arrives, yearly, these cards are brought into the 
main office (as they can be spared from the stockrooms) and all 
the different items are listed on the inventory record sheets. 
Neither the quantities nor the total values can be worked out 
at that time but the individual values can be filled in, so that 
when the cards are called for again the quantities can be entered 
and the extensions carried out in a much shorter period of time. 
Figure 7 applies more particularly to items which are somewhat 
out of the ordinary. In almost every stock there will be found 
items which are more or less special and which are not a part of 
the regular product. These odd items are recorded on these 
4x6 cards. The cards are then filed under the proper index 
and the following year considerable time will be saved by having 
a record which will promptly settle the question of inventory 
value. If the part is a special one, the probabilities are that it 
will be considered as only having the value of scrap by the 
time the second inventory period comes around, whereas if 
these cards were not on file many items would be carried along 
indefinitely at an improper value. 



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72 



STOCKS, STORES, AND INVENTORIES 



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The purchase department records of prices and discounts 
must be accurate, complete, and up to date, as this department 
must furnish correct rates on which to base the value of the in- 
ventory. It would, of course, be possible to complete the in- 
ventory, yearly, in less time than four days simply by increasing 
the number of workers. In order to have accuracy, however, 
it is necessary that the man in charge of each group be familiar 
with the product, so that the slips will be made out intelligently. 
Whether the number of workers is increased or not the actual 
cost of taking the inventory will not vary perceptibly. The 
entire cost of the yearly inventory in this factory averages y% of 
1 per cent, of the total value, in other words, $3 for each $1,000 

of inventory value. 
We treat the yearly 
inventory as being of 
January 1st rather 
than of December 31st. 
This is done merely to 
make the inventory 
record agree with the 
production depart- 
ment records, which 

Fig. 7. Stock Card for Special Items start off With the first 



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MONTHLY AND YEARLY INVENTORIES 73 

of the year. The percentages of overhead charges will vary 
with the different departments and with the different periods, 
as reflected by the conditions in the factory. An average 
overhead must be taken, otherwise the value of the inventory 
would be higher when the factory is not working anywhere 
near its capacity. 




THE PERPETUAL INVENTORY IN PRACTICAL 
OPERATION 

BY J. B. GREEN 

CH has been written concerning the principles of 
scientific management but less regarding the details of 
its application. The inherent difficulty in attempting 
a discussion of this phase of the subject is the almost infinite 
variety of situations existing in different manufacturing plants, 
each requiring its own special treatment. The manager who is 
convinced that scientific management is theoretically correct 
and has come to the conclusion that he would like to try it is 
confronted with the all-important question of how to go about 
it. There are two general methods — to employ a professional 
industrial engineer, or to do it yourself. This article is ad- 
dressed to the manager who has selected the latter. 

The word "scientific" comes from a Latin root meaning "to 
know," and scientific management is essentially a management 
based on knowledge in distinction to one based on guess. The 
knowledge which is the basis of scientific management is ob- 
tained usually in two steps, and may be said to consist of original 
data and derived data. For example, a properly set task 
and bonus is the knowledge of what is a proper compensation 
for a given amount of work, and it is derived from data ob- 
tained by time study. The cost of manufacturing an article is 
derived from original records regarding material, labor, and 
overhead expense. Managers, as a rule, are at least familiar 
with the methods of obtaining such original records as the ac- 
counting department of a scientifically managed plant requires. 
It is essential that the plant be broadly divided into a stores 
department and a manufacturing department, and that no 
transfer of goods of any kind be made from one to the other 
except on a properly executed written authority. The forms 
usually used are known as "Stores issue cards" and "Stores 

74 



THE PERPETUAL INVENTORY AT WORK 75 

credit slips." It is also necessary that all manufacturing be 
done on authority of a written factory order. The purchasing 
department must be so organized that all purchases are covered 
by a written purchase order. The receipt of all goods must be 
reported on a "Material received" report. This much is required 
as the basis for operating a "Balance-of -Stores Record." It is 
with the practical details of operating such a record that this 
article is concerned. 

Before passing to a discussion of the subject it is well to real- 
ize that all manufacturing may be divided into three classes, 
usually designated as contract work, job work, and standard 
product manufacturing. Contract work is done mostly outside 
of the plant, as building a bridge for example. Job work is 
done within the plant, but each order is made to the customer's 
specifications. Standard products are made within the plant to 
standard specifications and run to stock. The business of any 
single company may belong to any one of these classes, or it may 
be a mixture of any two or even include all three. The majority 
of manufacturing plants represent a mixture of job work and 
standard product, and it is to this class that special reference 
will be made. With but a few modifications, however, on some 
points, the discussion would apply to the other classes as well. 

Passing to the practical details of installing and operating a 
Balance-of -Stores Record, the first consideration is the clerk 
required to keep the record. The duties of the balance-of -stores 
clerk are herewith presented in specimen form and discussed 
by paragraphs later. 

BALANCE-OF-STORES CLERK's DUTIES 

1. Superior Officer. 

In the performance of the following duties, the balance- 
of -stores clerk is under the direct supervision of the chief 
accountant and reports to him. He cooperates with 
those making out the original records with which he is 
concerned in the matter of correcting errors. 

2. Divisions of the Balance-of-Stores Record. 

The balance-of-stores clerk keeps the record in four 
divisions, viz.: (1) Raw Material, (2) Semi-finished 



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76 



THE PERPETUAL INVENTORY AT WORK 77 

Material, (3) Finished Goods, and (4) Supplies, sub- 
dividing these main divisions as required. 

3. Original Records and Their Use. 

The balance-of-stores clerk receives the following 
forms from other departments and uses them as directed 
herewith : 

(a) Copy of Purchase Order: — After making the 
proper entries in the "Ordered" column of the balance- 
of-stores record, the copy is initialed and filed serially 
by order number. 

(b) Copy of Material -Received Report: — After mak- 
ing the proper entries in the "Received," "Balance," 
and "Available" columns of the balance-of-stores record, 
the copy is initialed and filed by date. 

(c) Stores-Credit Slip: — After making the proper 
entries in the "Received," "Balance," and "Available" 
columns of the balance-of-stores record, the slip is priced, 
initialed, and turned over to the stores distribution clerk. 

(d) Stores-Issue Card: — ^After making the proper 
entries in the "Issued" and "Balance" columns of the 
balance-of-stores record, the card is priced, initialed, and 
turned over to the stores distribution clerk. 

(e) Shipping Order: — This goes to the balance-of- 
stores clerk before going to the shipping department. 
Opposite each item regularly kept in stock he stamps 
"Applied," and makes an entry in the "Applied" col- 
umn of the balance-of-stores record. Opposite each 
item not kept in stock he stamps "Requisitioned," and 
makes out a requisition on the planning department 
for the goods. The shipping orders are then passed to 
the shipping department. 

(f) Copy of Factory Order: — After entering in the 
"Ordered" column of the balance-of-stores record, the 
copy is initialed and filed serially by order number. 

(g) Invoices for Goods Purchased : — ^Af ter entering the 
unit price in the "Price" column next to the "Received" 
column of the balance-of-stores record, the invoice is 



78 STOCKS, STORES, AND INVENTORIES 

stamped "Bal. of Strs. Clk.," initialed, and sent to 
the purchasing department. 

4. Use of Balance-of-Stores Sheet. 

The various spaces and columns are filled in as follows: 
(a) Heading spaces: — The unit and name are stated 
briefly but plainly. When a new item is added, the unit 
and name are obtained from the purchase order or else- 
where as occasion requires. The "Average Weekly 
Consumption" refers to the quantity sold or otherwise 
used per week on the average. This is revised at least 
once in six months, or of tener if there is a great variation 
in the rate of consumption. In the case of seasonable 
items where the average weekly consumption varies 
greatly during different months of the year, the proper 
average is specified for each season. The "Factory 
Time" refers to the time in weeks required to manufac- 
ture an item plus a factor of safety making a full allow- 
ance for the time required to start a run after the raw 
material is on hand. It is determined by the planning 
department. This space applies to finished and semi- 
finished material only. The "Classification Number" 
is a mnemonic symbol standing for an item of stores. 
This is devised by the chief accountant. It is used to 
index the balance-of -stores record. The "Quantity to 
Order" is determined by the manager of the stores de- 
partment. The "Minimum Stock" space is filled in as 
follows: — Case I; for raw material kept in stock, the 
minimum equals the time in weeks required to obtain a 
shipment from the source of supply, multiplied by the 
average weekly consumption. Case II; for finished 
goods for which raw material is specially ordered, the 
minimum equals the product of the average weekly con- 
sumption, the sum of the factory time, and the time in 
weeks required to obtain a shipment from the source of 
supply. Case III; for finished goods for which raw ma- 
terial is kept in stock, the minimum equals the factory 
time multiplied by the average weekly consumption. 



THE PERPETUAL INVENTORY AT WORK 79 

Case IV; for supplies, the minimum equals a specified 
quantity determined as directed by the manager of the 
stores department. 

(b) "Ordered" Column: — The date, quantity, and 
order number are posted from the purchase order or fac- 
tory order, depending on whether the material is pur- 
chased from outside or made in the factory. 

(c) "Received" Column: — The date, quantity, and 
order number are posted from material-received reports 
or stores-credit slips, depending on whether the material 
is received into stock from an outside source or the fac- 
tory. The price is obtained from the invoice or the cost 
clerk, depending on the same circumstances. 

(d) "Issued" Column: — The date, quantity, and or- 
der number are posted from the issue cards. 

(e) "Balance on Hand" Column: — Every entry in 
the "Issued" column is subtracted from the last balance 
and the difference and date entered. The cost price is 
entered after every receipt of goods. If this fluctuates 
violently, the price is reviewed by the manager of the 
stores department before entry. He may assign an 
arbitrary average price. 

(f) "Applied on Orders" Column: — This column is 
used only in connection with finished goods. Entries 
are made from the Shipping Orders covering regular 
stock items, the date and quantity being posted. 

(g) "Available" Column: — Every entry in the 
"Applied on Orders" column is subtracted and the differ- 
ence and date posted. Every entry in the "Received" 
column is added and the sum and date posted. 

(h) "Remarks" Column: — This is used as the name 
implies. 

(i) Lining-up Columns: — In order to keep track 
readily of various related items, the double lines im- 
mediately following the quantity columns are lined in. 
Whenever an order has been received complete, the space 
in the "Ordered" and "Received" columns referring to 
this order are lined off. The same procedure is followed 



80 STOCKS, STORES, AND INVENTORIES 

between "Issued" and "Applied on Orders" columns 
when the latter is kept. 

(j) Checking Columns: — The narrow spaces imme- 
diately following the double lines after the "Quantity" 
columns are used for checking purposes. 

5. Maximum and Minimum. 

The balance-of-stores clerk knows that it is time to 
replenish stock whenever the sum of goods on order and 
on hand or available becomes less than the prescribed 
minimum. A requisition is issued for the specified quan- 
tity to order, and sent to the purchasing department in 
the case of supplies and raw material, and to the planning 
department in the case of semi-finished and finished 
goods. 
The above represents a statement of the balance-of-stores 
clerk's duties in such form as they might be issued to him by 
the chief accountant or other oflScer. Taking up the various 
sections of these duties one at a time for discussion, the first 
relates to the superior ofiicer. The balance-of-stores clerk is 
under the chief accountant's supervision, because the work is 
essentially accounting and is so closely related to other features 
of a general accounting system that it must be under the same 
supervision. 

The second section refers to the division of the record. All 
materials handled by a manufacturing company may be divided 
into four main classes : raw, semi-finished, finished, and supplies. 
The balance-of-stores record should have at least these divisions 
and further subdivisions as the nature of the business de- 
mands. These same divisions are usually made in storing ma- 
terials, in reporting an inventory, in cost accounting, and 
numerous other places, and should, therefore, be used in con- 
nection with the record so that it will harmonize. 

The third paragraph is concerned with original records and 
their use. The balance-of-stores clerk requisitions the purchas- 
ing department for material required and receives back a copy 
of the purchase order as acknowledgment and advice regarding 
the date ordered and the order number. This latter is useful 



THE PERPETUAL INVENTORY AT WORK 81 

in checking the goods off against the proper order when received. 
The balance-of -stores clerk's copy of the purchase order is filed 
serially so as to form a cross index with the purchasing depart- 
ment's copy, which should be filed alphabetically. All original 
records should be initialed as soon as posted to indicate that the 
proper entries have been made. A copy of the "Material Re- 
ceived" report is essential to keep the record in balance. It is 
filed by date because a freight bill, or other record, may give 
only the date, or approximate one, on which an item of material 
was received and this system of filing makes it easier to locate 
reports. The record itself furnishes a cross index by order 
number or name of item. 

The "Stores Credit" slip is the authority to return goods to 
stock from the manufacturing departments. The quantity 
should be recorded in the "Received" column and added to the 
"Balance" and, in the case of finished goods, to the "Available" 
column. It is priced at cost and turned over to the stores dis- 
tribution clerk, who summarizes these and the stores-issue cards 
and keeps a running inventory in dollars and cents of the stock 
on hand. This is necessary in order to close the general books 
once a month so as to derive a monthly'profit-and-loss showing. 
The credit slips and issue cards are eventually turned over to 
the cost clerk, who files them permanently by order number 
or, if they refer to an item of overhead expense, by account 
symbol. 

The stores-issue card is handled the same as a credit slip ex- 
cept that it represents an issue of stock to the manufacturing 
departments instead of a credit. 

The balance-of-stores clerk receives the shipping order to 
requisition the planning department for items not in stock, and 
to keep the quantity available continuously up to date. This 
makes it possible to advise the sales department at any time 
just how much of any item is available for sales. 

The balance-of-stores clerk should receive a copy of the fac- 
tory order, for reasons similar to those given in the case of a 
purchase order. In one case the material is bought from an 
outside source, and in the other from the manufacturing de- 
partments. 



82 STOCKS, STORES, AND INVENTORIES 

After an invoice for goods purchased has been paid, it should 
go to the balance-of -stores clerk so that he may enter the price. 
This should be done from the paid invoice in order to include 
any price adjustments. The price invariably should be reduced 
to the same unit as that in which the stock is recorded in the 
record. 

The paragraph concerned with the use of the balance-of -stores 
sheet probably requires explanation on only a few points. The 
"Classification Number" is essentially an abbreviation for the 
name of an item of stock. It may be composed of figures, 
letters, or a mixture of both. For a complete discussion of this 
subject, reference should be made to literature on the subject. 
These symbols serve the purpose of translating shop names to 
those used by the accounting department, as a basis for setting 
depreciation rates, as an aid in sorting the cards for posting to 
the record, and for resorting by the stores-distribution clerk, 
etc. The question of devising and using mnemonic classifica- 
tion symbols is a subject too broad to more than hint at here. 
The "Quantity to Order" and "Minimum" will be discussed 
later in connection with the paragraph "Maximum and Mini- 
mum." The "Available" and "Applied on Orders" columns 
may serve a variety of purposes depending on the nature of the 
business. Uses for these columns will readily suggest them- 
selves. In the above statement of the balance-of -stores clerk's 
duties these columns are used only in connection with finished 
goods, but under certain conditions they might prove of greater 
benefit with one or all of the other classes of material. The 
essential thing in operating these columns is to have all authori- 
ties for the issue of stock from the stores department cross the 
balance-of-stores clerk's desk first, be entered and stamped 
"applied." Unless this is done, some stock will be issued with- 
out being first applied on orders which will, of course, vitiate the 
benefits of keeping these columns. 

Passing to the next paragraph, the maxima and minima, and 
the operating of this feature is the most important part of a 
balance-of-stores record. When the balance on hand plus the 
quantity on order equals the specified minimum, more stock 
should be requisitioned. This minimum should be so set that 



THE PERPETUAL INVENTORY AT WORK 83 

the fresh supply comes in just before the old stock is exhausted. 
In order to set such a minimum for an item of stock, it is nec- 
essary to examine the factors which affect the exhaustion and 
replenishing of stock. These are twelve in number when all 
possible cases are covered. However, it is rarely necessary to 
consider more than three or four in any particular instance. 
Following are the twelve factors, the unit of time being the 
week and the unit of quantity that one decided on as the stand- 
ard for the balance-of -stores record : 

(a) Time required by the purchasing department to place 
an order after receiving a purchase requisition from the balance- 
of -stores clerk 

(&) Time required by the seller to ship the goods after re- 
ceipt of the purchase order 

(c) Time required in transit 

(d) Time required to pass goods through the receiving room 
and to the desired point in the manufacturing department 

(e) Time required to manufacture goods 

(/) Time required to ship goods after being manufactured 

(g) Time required as a factor of safety 

(h) Average quantity consumed per week 

(i) Balance on hand 

(j) Quantity on order 

(k) Maximum quantity that a single order might require 

Let L = the allowable minimum quantity. Using the 
letters indicated above, the sum (a + & + c + c? + e+/-f^) 
equals the time in weeks required to secure the raw material 
and manufacture a lot ready for shipment. This sum multi- 
plied by h gives the quantity sold during the time required to 
replenish the stock. It might, therefore, be expected that if 
the balance-of-stores clerk made out a requisition on the pur- 
chasing department for raw material when this quantity was 
left on hand, the new lot would be ready just as the old lot was 
used up. There must, however, always be enough on hand to 
fill the maximum order that might be expected, so the factor k 
is added. It often happens that the quantity to order is small 
and the time required to obtain raw material is long. In such 



84 STOCKS, STORES, AND INVENTORIES 

cases, the factor j must be subtracted. The complete general 
formula then becomes, 

and a requisition should be put through as soon as L becomes 
less than i. It is not necessary for the balance-of-stores clerk 
to figure an elaborate formula of this kind. When all of the 
quantities, a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, k, remain constant, or nearly so, 
over a period of time such as say a year, the formula need be 
figured but once and the minimum specified on the record as 
a number. When, however, one or more of these quantities 
varies enough to warrant the extra work on the part of the 
balance-of-stores clerk, the formula should be specified on the 
record, using words instead of letters as very few clerks will 
readily comprehend the significance of algebraic symbols. 

Referring back to the specimen duties of the balance-of-stores 
clerk, paragraph 4, Case I, the quantity b is regarded as varying 
so that it must be considered. This would be true for instance 
in case bar steel were the raw material. This sometimes may 
be had from the mills in two weeks and sometimes it requires 
six months. It is obvious that it would be foolish always to 
keep six months' supply on hand and yet the supply must come 
in regularly. This is accomplished by having the purchasing 
department make monthly or semi-monthly reports to the 
balance-of-stores clerk regarding the time it takes to get deliv- 
ery. The purchasing department is instructed to add a factor 
of safety which shall cover the quantities a and c as well as g. 
The balance-of-stores clerk should periodically compute h on 
all items and make such corrections as are required. The quan- 
tity Jc so far as these specimen duties are concerned is considered 
very small and may therefore be neglected. The quantity j 
does not often enter into the calculation, and when it does is 
considered by specifying that a requisition should be put 
through when the sum of the goods on hand and on order be- 
comes less than the prescribed minimum. It will thus be seen 
that this apparently complicated formula has resolved itself 
for the case in point into a consideration of but two quantities. 
After the balance-of-stores clerk has figured a few items by this 



THE PERPETUAL INVENTORY AT WORK 85 

method, he can usually tell at a glance whether a requisition 
should be put through. The person setting the minima should 
make himself very familiar with the theoretical formula as given 
above and should reduce this to simple terms covering specific 
cases which may be practically apphed by the balance-of-stores 
clerk. The case given is but an example. There are probably 
several hundred different ways in which this formula may be 
reduced for practical application. By its intelligent use, how- 
ever, it is possible to keep but a relatively small amount of stock 
on hand and at the same time always be sure of an adequate 
supply. 

The maximum is, of course, the sum of the minimum quantity 
and the quantity to order. The quantity to order is dependent 
on five factors. These are as follows : 
P = Average weekly consumption. 

Q = Set-up cost plus loss of profit, if any, due to idleness of 
machine. 

R = Shop cost (except preceding item) per unit. 
S = Rate of interest plus rate of depreciation, both per week. 
T = Storage charges per unit per week. 
Then let X = Quantity to order. 

It is evident that it costs as much to get ready to make a run 
of goods if only one piece is made as if a thousand, or ten thou- 
sand, or whatever quantity can be turned out without resetting 
a die or making other changes. Consequently, the more goods 
that can be manufactured in one lot, the lower will be the cost. 
Suppose, however, as is usually the case, that these goods must 
be stored in the warehouse for some time until sold. There is 
an expense occasioned for warehouse space; money is tied up, 
the interest on which should be charged against the goods, and 
there is usually a loss through depreciation. Thus, so far as 
storing the goods is concerned, the more made at a time, the 
higher the cost. Here are two forces, so to speak, pulling in op- 
posite directions. There must, therefore, be some point where 
the cost is a minimum. If the quantity run be smaller than this 
amount, the increase cost per unit due to distributing the set-up 
charges over fewer pieces, more than offsets the reduction in 
cost of warehousing. On the other hand, if the quantity run be 



86 STOCKS, STORES, AND INVENTORIES 

greater than this minimum, the warehouse expense more than 
offsets the saving in manufacturing cost. That branch of mathe- 
matics known as calculus makes it possible to determine the 
formula which expresses the proper quantity to order so that the 
sum of the manufacturing and warehouse expenses shall be a 
minimum. Expressed algebraically this formula is 



RS + T 

Thus, to find out the proper quantity to order in any particu- 
lar case, it is merely necessary to substitute the figures applying 
and solve the problem by ordinary arithmetic. No knowledge 
of either calculus or algebra is required to use this formula. 
Great care, however, should be taken in getting the units cor- 
rect. The same unit of quantity must be used for P, R, S, and 
T. Costs must be written as dollars and decimal parts of a 
dollar. For instance, if the shop cost is 6 xV cents per unit, 
it must be written $.062. If the proper care is taken regarding 
the units of quantity and money, it is a comparatively simple 
matter to figure the right-size run to make on each item so as to 
give the maximum economy. This formula will be found of 
greatest service in connection with expensive, bulky, perishable 
goods, with a high set-up charge, and of least service when the 
reverse is the case. 

There are certain necessary adjuncts to the successful opera- 
tion of a balance-of-stores record, the details of which have not 
been given in the preceding paragraphs. A perpetual inventory 
to be of value should reflect the actual quantity of stock on 
hand, at least within 1 or 2 per cent, on the average. If no 
mistakes were made the record would, of course, be accurate. 
Mistakes are made, however, and with the exception of a few 
commoner ones which are easily recognized and corrected, most 
of them are due to an almost infinite variety of causes. On this 
account, it is usually cheaper to correct the mistakes after they 
have been made than to prevent their occurrence. Experience 
has shown that it is essential to have a tag or other form on 
each item of stock in the warehouse, and on this tag keep a 
running balance of stock on hand. So far as this balance is con- 



THE PERPETUAL INVENTORY AT WORK 87 

cerned, it should be an exact duplication of the balance-of -stores 
record. Unless the men handling the stock are unusually in- 
telligent, the tag balance should be written on every issue card 
and credit slip. This enables the balance-of-stores clerk to 
keep his books in accord with the tag. The stock men should 
be instructed to size up the quantity of an item on hand every 
time an issue is made to see if it appears to agree with the 
tag balance. If there is a visible discrepancy, a correction 
should be made at once by notifying the balance-of-stores clerk. 
There are other errors which creep in and which are too small 
to be detected by this method. These are corrected usually in 
one of two ways often called the "Double-Bin" system and the 
"Item-a-Day" system. The former depends on having two 
bins or spaces or other means of keeping each lot of material of 
each item separate. A tag is kept on each lot and the old lot 
completely exhausted before beginning to use the new. In this 
way every time a lot is drawn down to zero the tag should show 
a zero balance which is an excellent periodic check. This sys- 
tem also insures getting rid of the oldest stock first which is often 
very desirable. The other system is based on the fact that most 
stock men are rushed during the morning hours but usually 
have httle work later in the day. By arranging to have them 
count a number of items each day during their slack time, the 
entire stock can be systematically and continuously inventoried. 
The number of items counted a day should be such that a com- 
plete round will be made about once in six months. 

Before closing, it might be well to call attention to the fact 
that there is just one reason for maintaining a balance-of-stores 
record, and that is to make more money. The manager, there- 
fore, who is instalhng or operating such a record should have 
clearly in mind at least a few of the ways in which this is a source 
of benefit so that, when questions of policy regarding the record 
arise, he will be able to form a sound judgment as to the most 
profitable course of action. The balance-of-stores record con- 
stitutes a history in detail of the movement of every item of 
stock and, by reference to it, many otherwise perplexing ques- 
tions regarding requirements may be easily answered. The 
record is often the means of detecting theft. It is also indis- 



88 STOCKS, STORES, AND INVENTORIES 

pensable to monthly profit-and-loss accounting. It is a handy 
source of information for the sales department when a customer 
telephones to ask if so much of a certain item is in stock. The 
record may be made to show at a glance how much is available 
for sale. The regulative feature of running stock to maximum 
and minimum is by far the most profitable. A large stock of 
merchandise ties up valuable capital, not only in the stock itself 
but in the storage space required. Too small a stock means 
idle machines and poor service to customers, both very ex- 
pensive. 

The warehouse acts like the flywheel of an engine. It stores 
the excess stock when it comes in faster than required and lets 
it out when required faster than it comes in. If the supply and 
demand could be made to correspond exactly no warehouse 
would be needed. The Perpetual Inventory permits reducing 
the size of the warehouse flywheel usually from a fourth to a 
half, and may rightfully be termed a very valuable part of Sci- 
entific Management. 



STANDARD PRACTICE FOR PURCHASING AND 
STORES DEPARTMENTS 

BY DWIGHT T. FARNHAM 

IN THE calm days whicli preceded the great war Mr. Adam 
T. Wadleigh was a most methodical man. Every Saturday 
afternoon he invariably outstayed the other clerks by ex- 
actly one hour, in order to avoid impairing the reputation for 
conscientiousness which he had established during 23 years' 
service with "his firm." From the oflSce he always went to 
Harrigan's Smoke Shop and purchased from Ed Harrigan him- 
self a box of 25 Robert Q. Child's guaranteed cigars. These 
cigars which he knew were honestly made of innocuous tobacco 
and which he candidly convinced himself, by inquiry elsewhere, 
could be purchased as cheaply at Harrigan's as anywhere, he 
paid for in cash and bore away to his "bachelor apartments," 
located on the third floor of Mrs. Drusilla Hooker's exclusive 
boarding house. 

Upon arrival at his lair he locked his perfectos away in an 
ancient humidor. During the next seven days, after each meal, 
he abstracted one cigar which he lit at the grate or the gas jet 
and smoked to the bitter end, with the aid of a weichsel holder 
and a bent pin. Inasmuch as he allowed himself double rations 
on Sunday and, "unless a friend dropped in," presented the 
janitor at the office with a cigar on Saturday, he smoked his last 
cigar about an hour before he again repaired to the aforemen- 
tioned Mr. Harrigan's for his weekly purchase. This procedure 
multiplied by 52 represented Adam T.'s annual dissipation in its 
entirety. 

Although such was by no means his intention Mr. Wadleigh 
inadvertently furnishes us, gratis, with the perfect example of 
material purchase, control, and conservation, because: 

1. The material required was in stock and readily accessible 
when needed. 

89 



90 STOCKS, STORES, AND INVENTORIES 

2. When the stock needed replacement the order was placed 
promptly and in such a way as to preclude misunder- 
standing. 

3. All purchases were duly authorized. 

4. The material was bought from a reliable firm which 
could be depended upon : 

(a) To have a stock on hand. 

(b) To make immediate delivery. 

(c) To maintain quality. 

5. The material was bought at the lowest price consistent 
with dependability, 

6. Delivery was made safely and quickly. 

7. The goods were economically stored and in such a man- 
ner that: 

(a) They could be withdrawn from storage with the 
least expenditure of labor. 

(b) They could be withdrawn without delay in 
locating or in transporting to point of use. 

(c) They were in no danger of deterioration. 

(d) They were not likely to be destroyed or 
stolen. 

8. The store's layout was such that any unusual with- 
drawal from stores would be evident at once — making 
local demand without local supply impossible. 

9. Demand had been standardized. 

10. The most efficient lot had been determined taking into 
consideration economy of purchase, conservation in 
storage, cost of storing and transporting, and the like. 

11. Transportation was effected most quickly, most eco- 
nomically, and in the surest manner. 

12. Advantage was taken of all discounts. Postage, clerical 
and stenographic work was reduced to a minimum, as 
was also the demand upon the time of purchaser and of 
vendor. 

13. The chance of error was reduced to a minimum. 

14. Credit risk was avoided. 

15. System and red tape was reduced to the vanishing point. 

16. The material was used for the purpose for which it was 



PURCHASING AND STORES PRACTICE 91 

intended and there were no wastage of material and no 
scrap. 

17. Quality and quantity per unit purchased were such that 
in its use the least amount of clerical labor was required 
and the least amount of auxiliary labor and supplies 
consumed. 

18. Costs were predetermined and operation was always 
100 per cent, efficient. 

The only difference then between the simple common-sense 
purchase of the individual, as illustrated by Mr. Wadleigh's 
weekly peregrination, and that of the hundred-million-dollar 
corporation is one of elaboration. In each case the principles 
are the same. That practical economist — be he industrial en- 
gineer or executive — who is personally responsible for the effi- 
ciency of operation of a great concern must convince himself 
that the elaboration is just sufficient, that the system is "tight" 
but that it contains not one more form or one more counter 
check than is absolutely necessary. Otherwise the purchase, 
stores, and material conservation system is faiHng to earn its full 
dividend. 

Just how much elaboration is necessary in installing an eco- 
nomical purchase and stores system depends upon the type and 
size of the business. While the principles do not vary, local 
conditions vary greatly and trade customs in each line of busi- 
ness differ widely so that certain concessions usually have to be 
made to suit each case. Furthermore, each purchasing agent 
and each auditor has certain pet methods which he will fight 
for as a mother for her first-born — regardless of real beauty or 
of usefulness. All this must be taken into consideration when 
installing purchase and stores control mechanisms. 

Knowing all this, it requires courage to pass from the safe 
generalizations of stated principles to the exposed position of 
standard practice instructions. Nevertheless, I believe that the 
clarity of later statements will be increased by the reproduction 
of condensed instructions suitable for controlling the disburse- 
ment and purchase of supplies in a plant requiring the con- 
tinuous maintenance of a stock amounting to, say, something 
over $150,000. 



92 



STOCKS, STORES, AND INVENTORIES 



STANDARD PRACTICE INSTRUCTIONS 

Stores and purchase procedure. 

1. An employee requiring material from stores makes out 
stock requisition (Figure 1) which upon presentation, signed 



Form r>U. lOU U-} 

STOCK REQUISITION , ^f . 

OEPT. NO...i> ACCOUNT NO..L -.©.'•..4., 

DATE...3.r..<0.-'- - 191©- EXPENSE ORDER..iS:3J!L^_ 


QOANTmr 


DESCRIPTION 


AMOUNT 1 


<f 


^A^i'if "VW^* f^" y "^ .'=» 




a-t 








' 










































8ic«eo - 5lt!.Vi . 1 — 1 



Fig. 1. Requisition fob Obtaining Material from Stores 

authoritatively, at the storeroom entitles him to withdraw the 
material needed. Materials drawn from sub-stations are re- 
ported by those in charge of such stations, who hand in each 



^.T.,.-..- /^ocr^s 


J^ PORN %^% ' ' IN t>ia 1 


P^,^P,PT'"" /Vfy^<=/^//i^£ I 




nnnPB im i rvr^ 










ORDERED 


RECEIVED 


WITHDRAWAL 


BALANCE 1 


Dili , 
ffft 


Rca. 

NO. 


aUANTITY 


Dill 


Rea. 

NO. 


QUANTITY 


llel Ptiu 
Diilmid 


PER 


Dill 


ilWbu 


OUANTTT 
IN 


DaU 


QUAIfTITV 






























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• 






RED PICURES IN BALANCE COLUMN INDICATE ACTUAL COUNT. J 



Fig. 2. Stores Record Card Gi\t[NG Unit Price 

evening the general storeroom requisition covering materials so 
withdrawn. 



PURCHASING AND STORES PRACTICE 93 

2. The storekeepers enter upon such stock requisitions the 
price of the material unit and multiply it by the number of units 
withdrawn. Such unit price is obtained from the stores records 
cards (Figure 2) the purchase price f.o.b. storeroom being used 
in each case, it being assumed that the oldest stock on hand is 
used each time. The amount of stock withdrawn is entered 
in the withdrawal column of the stores-record card together with 
the date and the withdrawer's initials. 

3. Stock reserved for special orders will be entered as shown 
on the stores-record card, the number of units reserved being 
entered in pencil and the figure encircled with a line. When 
such reserve stock is actually withdrawn the date of withdrawal 
is entered in the date column and the figures inked in. When 
partial withdrawals of reservations are made the encircled fig- 
ures will be altered accordingly. 

4. All stock should be counted once in three months and the 
figure entered in red ink in the balance column. Storekeepers 
must count a definite number of articles every day, selecting 
those of which the stock is lowest. It is the duty of the auditing 
department to check by actual count, red figures selected at 
random against the stock of the article in question at least every 
30 days. 

5. After the stock requisitions have been priced and ex- 
tended they will each evening be sorted to department, account 
and expense-order numbers and the segregated totals entered 
in the space provided on the daily distribution sheets. The 
daily distribution sheets are to be complete by 9 a. m. of the 
day following the use of the material, so that the management 
may ascertain just how much has been spent and is chargeable 
to each account in every department for the day previous. 

6. Storekeepers will not accept stock requisition unless de- 
partment number, account number, and expense order number 
(Figure 3) have been filled in, or unless the withdrawer can give 
a sufficiently clear account of the exact use to which material 
or supply is to be put to allow him to fill in full information as to 
its exact destination. No requisitions will be accepted unless 
signed by some one on the list furnished by the superintendent. 

7. In case the employee who requires material has reason to 



STOCKS, STORES, AND INVENTORIES 



believe that it is not in stock, or in case he orders it from stock 
and finds it missing, he makes out a purchase requisition, or 
requests the storekeeper to make out a purchase requisition 



bo 



«..,^j4A^_4V>!f EXPENSE ORDER 



^5UT^l'A--s>'^"it-^ 



..fit^> 



-4>jR>U..w. .. 



>o 



V^' (?.w4; ^^ 



C \^ e^^- To "^^al^t^t^^ 



r POMT M TMi Asovc la Her cleam. tak* n 



■ «..-^.»g.«>4^ 



Fig. 3. Requisition Slip Pkopeely Filled Out 

(Figure 4) in tripHcate, stating whether it is for stock or im- 
mediate use, where it is to be dehvered and by what date; also 
for what material is to be used, and where. Quantity and 



rM>|r 




.PURCHASE REQUIsmON 






R«. 


3649*'] 


PUHCHASINO department: o.» 


«^^JL V- 


v-ft 1 


Order Item. k^1n« fnr fj 8'"^^ \ .» 




^Oe?. 


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7. 


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HOOIBO 




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Sidre. 


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aUANTlTY AMD OESCRIPTtON 


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PHica 


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1 . 1 . 1 . 1 -1 . 1 . 1 . 1 . 1 . 1 ., 1 .. 1 « 1 u 1 „ I „i « u.i „pf„ 1 i u 1 »f *i . i.i „ 1.,1-uiij 



Fig. 4. Purchase Requisition Form for Material Not in Stock 

complete description should be given, as well as a statement of 
stock on hand, and a record made as to the last date and quan- 
tity of material ordered. No such purchase requisition, except 



PURCHASING AND STORES PRACTICE 



95 



for stores, will be honored unless the expense order and account 
number are noted thereon. The third copy remains in the 
requisition book of the employee. 

8. The requisition is then signed; original and blue duplicate 
are detached from the requisition book, fastened together with 
vise clips, forwarded to the department head for approval, and 
sent direct to the purchasing department. 

9. Bids or quotations on material are then secured from at 
least three firms found on the reliable list and the prices are 
entered on both copies of the purchase requisition, the firm 
from whom the goods are ordered being marked with a check. 




PURCHAS1N6 DEPARTMENT ■ 

IMPERIAL MANUFACTURIN6 CO. , , j 

tn maWnJ Vill plWM rtftr -to Orriir Wo . J7*?... . Requisi-tw Ho. J*f'*S— . CatM J ^'u ' . 
^^_^_^ Brffr m, Smith ^ 5hipl9ij 

■AtJArt.*^ SJO Custom Houst Sfrvat ■ , „ , , 

??.9.L?jy2S^.'rPS 5ubJ«At to eondltlonxMfrinttd m ntrst htr 



Pi-.<:«» F 6. Your- factvnj 




iir,!iicK,xcoMrmxi>rrjHKCiinc!> cim WflW- l1AI«irAcrailN6 COBPANY 



K lisua Far afn t 



Ba '-/ Cnrrt ' 



Fig. 5, Pubchase Order, Made out en Duplicate 



10. All purchase requisitions must be O. K.'d by the purchas- 
ing agent and all expenditures amounting to more than $500, 
except certain material listed as routine purchase, must be 
O. K.'d by the management. 

11. The purchase order (Figure 5) is then made out in du- 
plicate. The original is sent to the successful bidder and the 
duplicate to the Unfilled Order File where it is attached to the 
original Purchase Requisition and followed up on the date indi- 



9Q 



STOCKS, STORES, AND INVENTORIES 



cated by the red flag . Unsuccessful bidders are notified in 
case the order is a large one. 

12. The blue duplicate of purchase requisition is forwarded 
by the purchase department to the general storekeeper and 
handled as indicated in paragraph 17, below. 

13. In order to avoid incurring expense for rehandling goods 
so heavy that they are unlikely to be stolen, all such supplies 
should be delivered at the point of use but should be ac- 





RECFTVFD OF rm r„ , .. ,, 






■ 




OUANTITY 


DESCRIPTION 


















■ 








































Date 

Via 


, Ry . .. Approved: 


'NOTE7 


SupC 
When dra; tickets do Dot accompany deliveries, use this form to ootUy 
PurcItasinB Department ol materrals received. 



FIG. 6. 



Dkay Sup Giving Purchase Requisition 

NUMBEK 



companied by a dray slip furnishing information as to where 
they are to be delivered and should go to such destination via 
the storekeeper. 

14. During this call at the storeroom a record should be 
made upon stores card as heretofore described if the supply is 
to be physically handled through stores, or in the receiving book 
if delivery is to be made direct to a special job, as described in 
paragraph 13. 

15. When the dray ticket does not list the contents of the 



PURCHASING AND STORES PRACTICE 97 

« 

package or load, the number of the purchase requisition listing 
such contents must be entered on the dray slip (Figure 6) or the 
contents must be indicated in some other way with sufficient 
clearness to allow the bill to be checked at the main office. 
The dray slip must be signed by storekeeper. In the case of 
carload shipments the same procedure will be followed. 

16. As dray tickets are received by the purchasing depart- 
ment, they are checked against the original requisition ; material 
indicated as being received is noted on the requisition and in- 
voices are O. K.'d for payment and turned over to the account- 
ing department to be vouchered. As a general thing invoices 
should be ffied in the discount tickler until due, when the 
voucher should be mailed. 

17. In order that those who have ordered supplies may be 
notified at once upon their arrival, the blue duplicate (see para- 
graph 8 above) should be sent to the storeroom as soon as goods 
are ordered, and held there until the material arrives at the 
storeroom when the blue slip should be sent to the originator 
or person who signed the purchase requisition (indicated by 
initials on the blue slip) who will thereupon requisition the goods 
from the storeroom by means of a stock requisition, as described 
in paragraph 1 above. 

18. In cases where the supply is to go direct to the job, the 
blue slip should go to the storekeeper as above. On arrival of 
the supply in this case, however, the storekeeper must send with 
the blue slip a stock requisition made out in duplicate, the car- 
bon of which he retains for follow-up purposes, to the originator 
of the order. As soon as the originator is so notified that the 
goods have arrived he must sign the stock requisition and re- 
turn it to the storeroom at once, thereby indicating that he is 
satisfied with the quality and quantity of what has been de- 
livered and certifying as to the correctness of the distribution 
indicated by the expense order, account number, and description, 
copied to the stock requisition from purchase requisition which 
is filled in by originator or by the purchasing department. 

19. Upon the return of the stock requisition the storekeeper 
prices it, enters the value of the supplies upon the material dis- 
tribution sheet opposite its proper expense-order number, and 



98 STOCKS, STORES, AND INVENTORIES 

sends it to the cost department with other stock requisitions the 
first of each month. 

INVENTORY VALUE OF STORES 

The question of the inventory value of stores boils down in 
the end to an estimate of forced liquidation value. Theoreti- 
cally, anything stored is worth the market price. Actually it is 
worth what you can get for it, which varies directly as the time 
allowed by your creditors, less the discount always expected 
by buyers of bankrupt stock. It is well for the management to 
insist on conservative inventory values lest the profits which 
the purchasing agent or storekeeper point to with pride on a 
rising market later bite large holes in the net profits when the 
market price falls. At such times stockholders are crotchety 
anyway and conservative management will so arrange its affairs 
that no more excuses than are absolutely necessary have to 
be made when the time for passing dividends arrives. 

One company I knew of inventoried all stock at the market 
value when the market was rising and at the time of the annual 
physical inventory counted all stock that was missing as present 
as well as all stock unexpectedly found. I have never been able 
to ascertain in detail the result of this supreme example of opti- 
mism, but I would not like to be manager of that company 
when the day of reckoning comes. It would have been much 
safer for all concerned if the safe and sane self-adjusting plan 
of charging all goods into stores at cost had been adopted, since 
you cannot get away from the fact that cost is what you paid 
for them. No more can you escape the logic of charging all 
goods removed from stores into manufacturing at cost, since 
the cost of production is really composed of the cost of the vari- 
ous figures entering into production. Then if the market rises 
it is easy enough to maintain profits by raising the selling price 
of the finished product to cover the rise in the cost of material. 
Incidentally, it is usually safe to assume that the man who pro- 
poses to follow the market in valuing his supplies has never 
attempted to reprice some thousands of stock cards every time 
the market changes. If the market falls seriously and consid- 
erably, conservative practice may force the repricing of ma- 



PURCHASING AND STORES PRACTICE 99 

terials in certain cases. I am inclined to think, however, in 
such an event, that it is better business economics to face the 
fact that your costs are high and to write off your loss as lack 
of net profits than to write off inventory value. 

The same policy we have outlined has also come to be the 
accepted practice in pricing manufactured stock used for repairs, 
construction, and the like. Formerly optimistic managers 
charged such stock in at the selling price instead of at the cost 
of production, adding the profit to their net profits. Although 
there is a long and wordy defense of this practice, it is impossible 
to get away from the fact that the firm that does so inflates its 
profits — a practice that tends to encourage unwise expenditure 
and also inflates its capital account — thereby increasing the 
investment upon which dividends must be paid and also the 
probable discount on marketable assets in case of liquidation. 
The inflation of profits is always dangerous, and unearned in- 
crement should be added to the plus side of the balance sheet 
only after the most searching examination. 

In the long run the " something-f or-nothing " schemes are just 
as futile in business as "perpetual-motion" schemes are in 
mechanics. There seems to be a sort of economic conserva- 
tion of energy law about inflated values that provides sooner or 
later for a period of reckoning, and the popularity of stock- 
waterers is decreasing in inverse ratio to the increase in the num- 
ber of widows and orphans who are gradually disclosed as hold- 
ing the bag, as various inflated corporations are forced to com- 
pete on the basis of merit and are brought forth in their true 
light under government scrutiny. 

Some firms add another column to their stores-record card in 
which they carry the daily balance on hand in money as well as 
in units. This plan makes it possible to ascertain the total 
value of stores on hand at any time by totalling the last figures 
on each card. Such an arrangement involves considerable 
extra figuring whenever stores are withdrawn and is only justi- 
fied in special cases, although it facilitates the compilation of 
the monthly inventory valuation totals. 

Where reservations are heavy and frequently changed, some 
more elaborate system than that shown in paragraph 3 of the 



100 STOCKS, STORES, AND INVENTORIES 

standard practice instructions is necessary. The method given 
is sufficient for the usual spare-part and repair-material stores 
system described. 

Not very long ago I read a prolonged discussion of the rela- 
tive merits of physical inventories taken periodically and of 
perpetual inventories in which the balance is taken at will from 
the stores cards. In this article the inaccuracies of actual count 
made under pressure were contrasted with the inaccuracies of 
accumulated accounting errors on the cards. The horrors of 
"actual-count" inventories, during which the "whole works" 
shuts down and nerve-racked clerks count hectically all night 
while customers clamor and operatives secure jobs elsewhere, 
were graphically described. Any one who has experienced one 
of these feverish interludes will sympathize with the author 
who obviously spoke from the heart. Not so long ago I wit- 
nessed such a Marathon which began with colored gentlemen 
counting bolts under the supervision of silk-shirted salesmen and 
ended with near nervous prostration for the auditor with the 
"actual count" inventory something over 12 per cent, at varia- 
tion with the "book count." Fortunately such spasms have 
been entirely unnecessary since the introduction of the physical- 
perpetual inventory. This method is described in paragraph 4 
of the standard instructions. 

Under it the storekeepers every morning select a hundred or 
so articles of which the stock is visibly low or which is for the 
most part in unbroken packages or otherwise arranged in units 
making quick counting easy. They make actual count of such 
articles and enter the result in red ink on the stores cards, 
thereby wiping out any errors which have accumulated. By 
doing this systematically every article in stores can be counted 
once a month, or once in three months, or as often as experience 
with local conditions makes the auditor feel is necessary. The 
physical inventory is continuous and disturbs nothing instead 
of being occasional and cataclysmic. At the end of the period 
everything has been counted and all the advantages of both 
systems have been obtained with a minimum of their defects. 

The plan is so simple that it is remarkable that it is not in 
more general use, involving as it does only the principle in use 



PURCHASING AND STORES PRACTICE 101 

in the Overland Limited which takes water at full speed and 
changes diners and stoked engines at division points instead of 
emulating those early trains which ran only in the day time and 
stopped for meals. As in railroading, auditing under the Physi- 
cal-Perpetual System is done while all is in motion, and the 
traveling auditor drops in unexpectedly but regularly and checks 
stock cards selected at random against the material in the rack 
and the supplies in the bins. We have outgrown periodic 
traveling, why continue periodic inventorying.^* 

The matter of keeping the management informed daily as to 
the value of supply and material disbursements is exceedingly 
important. For some reason managers are accustomed to 
keeping in close touch with expenditures for labor, but in the 
majority of cases they seem long since to have despaired of being 
able to discover the value of material and supplies used until 
from four to seven weeks after the material is used, wasted, or 
stolen. Some quite large firms still wait until "their bills are 
all in " before figuring what has been expended. Inherited cus- 
toms die hard and the American tradition has been to have the 
least intelligent clerk buy the labor while the proprietor per- 
sonally watches the payroll, and to buy the material in person 
and leave the accounting thereof for casual inspection in the far 
future when the story can have but little historical interest. 

What is the use of going out and consulting with Bill or Hank 
about the waste of oil in their departments six weeks after the 
peak charge was incurred .f* Why should Pete or Hank try to be 
economical if the "old man " does not know how much oil should 
be used.'^ How can the old man know how much should be 
used if he is not informed day by day how much has been used 
with satisfactory results.? Apply the same sort of questions 
to almost any indirect material and the necessity of having data 
which makes it necessary for the statistical department to tabu- 
late by periods, and for the industrial engineering department 
to investigate with the facts at their command, will be evident. 

The use of expense orders is too general to require explana- 
tion. They prevent conflicting orders to repair departments, 
replace priority due to "pull" and to "influence" by priority 
in accordance with the plant's most urgent needs, provide for 



102 STOCKS, STORES, AND INVENTORIES 

due authorization, and permit the scheduKng and layout of re- 
pair jobs so that they may be done in the most economical 
manner. They ensure the charge of all labor and material to 
the proper account and, by means of the daily -labor and ma- 
terial-distribution sheets, make it possible for the management 
to ascertain each day just how much has been spent on any 
repair or construction job to date. 

Paragraph 7 might easily give rise to lengthy discussion of 
methods of preparing and filing specifications,* of methods of 
filing catalogs and the like. Those who have had experience 
in purchasing know that the education of foremen and store- 
keepers to the writing of clear and complete requisitions is a 
long and tedious job. Methods used must depend upon the 
teachableness of the pupils. As a general rule the greater the 
centralization the fewer the difficulties since it is generally easier 
and cheaper to educate thoroughly a few storekeepers and pay 
them enough to hold them, than it is to install elaborate card 
indexes of specifications complete enough to force the lowest 
grade of intelligence to write specifications worthy of the 
American Society for Testing Materials. Purchase requisition 
books when in the hands of the trained few are usually produc- 
tive of less expense and less trouble than when widely distributed 
through some mistaken idea that steps saved low-priced men 
net the company more than the time wasted in long phone con- 
versations in which high-priced purchasing agents frantically 
strive to induce some embarrassed repair man to disclose the 
secret of the bore and face of the pulley desired, as well as the 
diameter. 

The determination of the standard maximum and minimum 
stock is a matter which should not be neglected. A printing 
concern not long ago was saved over $10,000 by such a deter- 
mination by an engineer whom I know. The work of standard- 
izing the stock had just been completed when notice of a con- 
templated rise in the price of paper was received, and the con- 
cern knowing its requirements with reasonable certainty was 
able to order a year's supply. The stock cards themselves 
after a few months contain sufficient data to make it fairly evi- 
dent how long is required to secure a new stock under normal 



PURCHASING AND STORES PRACTICE 103 

conditions. The greater the period covered by the record the 
more certain and valuable the information that careful analysis 
will bring forth. It is well, if purchases are large, to have a 
place on the stock cards for the various lots on which special 
discount may be obtained. This makes it possible to buy more 
cheaply when an order is of such magnitude that the addition 
of a few units will bring the order within the next discount area. 

The actual purchase of the material is a matter of strategy 
and psychology. The strategy consists in careful and syste- 
matic preparation for the attack. The psychology is the comple- 
ment of the psychology of salesmanship, concerning which 
whole libraries have been written. By this I do not mean that 
because a salesman is professionally a pleasant fellow, a pur- 
chasing agent must necessarily be a crab. He has quite as 
much need for wide acquaintance and warm friends as the 
salesman, and will be very shortsighted if he allows his knowl- 
edge of sales methods to destroy his humanitarian outlook 
and to convert him to that cheap cynicism which delights in 
the discomfiture of those whose livelihood depends upon his 
favor. 

The strategy of purchase varies with the business and with 
the ability of those who direct the business. Some fourteen years 
ago when I was trying to get some of the final departments of a 
factory in the Alleghanies to synchronize with the rest of the 
plant, the officer of the company who did the purchasing phoned 
me during dinner to be ready to go to Buffalo in an hour. All 
that night our touring car roared and careened through the fog. 
At 7 A. M. he walked into the largest junk shop in Buffalo: 

'* Gimme a lO-horsepower D. C. motor. Put it in the 
tonneau." All that day we climbed and skirted mountain 
streams and all that night the faithful Jake tinkered with bear- 
ings and counter-shafts. The second morning our machinery 
was in operation. That is one sort of purchasing. 

The confirmation of orders in writing has been discarded by 
certain firms and in certain sections of the country. To my 
mind this is a doubtful economy except in cases where there is 
little chance of misunderstanding in regard to sort and quality 
and where the producer is so situated that he can force the re- 



104 STOCKS, STORES, AND INVENTORIES 

placement of unsatisfactory materials without cost to his 
firm. 

It will be noted that the purchase requisition has figures repre- 
senting the days of the month printed across the bottom. This 
allows a red flag tab to be attached at the date delivery of the 
material is promised. When the original purchase requisition 
is filed in the unfilled-order file it is placed bottom side up and 
face to the wall for the sake of easy reading, thereby making it 
possible to sight down the drawer each day of the month and to 
pick out all requisitions flagged for that day and to ascertain if 
delivery has been made, and if not, why not. 

Under excessive market demand the follow up may become 
the largest duty of the purchasing department. During the 
past few years conditions in the automobile business were such 
that each firm in Detroit kept a force of stock chasers and in- 
spectors in every factory from which parts were bought. The 
disorder and bickering which resulted in having a crew of this 
sort in each factory, fighting with each other and with the super- 
intendent whenever they felt that a rival was being favored, are 
better imagined than described. Only a short time ago even 
worse conditions prevailed in firms running on war orders for 
several branches of the service. The remedy is of course careful 
and relentless scheduling with an occasional heart-to-heart talk 
between the heads of the purchasing and selling concerns when 
inspectors become over-zealous. 

The paragraphs covering the avoidance of rehandling simply 
provide for the extension of the stores system to cover deliveries 
which cannot be made at the storeroom without involving the 
useless expenditure of labor. It is assumed that the storekeeper 
is either competent to pass upon the quality of all material 
which is stored, to be disbursed piecemeal, or sufiiciently in- 
telligent to obtain expert inspection and approval when it is 
required. The system arranges for the inspection and approval 
of supplies delivered direct to the job in paragraph 18 of the 
standard practice instructions. 

There is no standard purchasing system which can be guaran- 
teed to meet the needs of every business. A system which is 
logical and which contains a minimum of opportunities for error 



PURCHASING AND STORES PRACTICE 105 

and for dishonesty can in every case be worked out with com- 
paratively few forms and with but Httle reduphcation of work 
if the principles illustrated by the simple performance of Mr. 
Wadleigh are kept firmly in mind and if the value to the manage- 
ment of adequate, accurate, immediate records is realized to the 
fullest extent. 



TIME-STUDY 

Time-Study as Basis of Production 
Six Fundamentals of Time-Study 
Improvements in Time-Study Methods 
Time-Study in Small-Part Manufacture 
How to Make Group Time-Studies 



TIME-STUDY AS BASIS OF PRODUCTION 

BY J. A. BENNIE 

MAXIMUM production is the aim of all our industries 
to-day, and greater efforts are being made to gain this 
end than were ever made in the past. Many different 
systems of production have been devised and are being tried out. 
These differ to quite a considerable extent in many details, but 
on the one fundamental they all agree; that is, that the quantity 
of finished product that should be produced per man in a given 
time must be established. It is the general practice in most 
factories to analyze the finished product into its constituent 
piece parts, these into the several operations that must be per- 
formed upon each, then to determine the amount of time that 
should be spent for each operation in terms of man hours, and 
fix this time as the standard for the particular operation. 

These standards are a valuable asset to the manufacturer, 
provided they are accurate measurements of the time that 
should be taken on a particular piece of work. 

First, they provide the employer with a means of paying 
the men according to their respective values to him, which 
method of pajonent, if used judiciously, is generally accepted by 
both employer and employee to be the fairest method of wage 
payment. 

Secondly, standards enable the manufacturer to establish 
and maintain a balanced factory, however the products vary. 
In order that a factory may function as a unit it is necessary 
that it be balanced in all its parts. If there is one section whose 
capacity is less than that of the rest of the factory, maximum 
production cannot be maintained For, as a chain is no stronger 
than its weakest link, so is a factory no stronger than its weakest 
department. \^Tien standards are once set up the manufacturer 
can pick out these weak departments and set out to strengthen 
them. 

109 



110 TIME-STUDY 

To make this last point clear, we will consider as an example 
a factory consisting of a foundry, machine shop, and assembly 
shop. If, after the standard times of all operations have been 
determined upon, a summation shows that 1,600 man-hours 
are required per day in the foundry to meet the production re- 
quirements already decided upon, 4,800 man-hours are required 
in the machine shop and 1,600 man-hours in the assembly shop. 
If the product of the men times the hours to be worked in the 
foundry and the assembly shop show 1,600 man-hours available 
in each, while the machine shop shows only 3,800 available man- 
hours, then it is clearly seen that the machine shop is weak, while 
the other two shops are of the proper strength The manu- 
facturer immediately sets to work to strengthen his machine 
shop. In a similar manner he finds the comparative strengths 
of the various departments in each shop and sees that they are 
all of the proper strength to produce the work planned upon. 

Thirdly, standards enable the manufacturer to plan his work 
in process. Since he knows the time required to complete a 
certain number of parts, he is able to decide upon the time at 
which they should start through the shop, and the time at which 
they should proceed at any stage in their course of manufacture, 
so that they arrive as finished parts at the definite time already 
planned upon. By planning ahead in this manner, he is able 
to avoid the confusion and loss of efficieijcy that must inevitably 
arise unless some such system is adopted. 

METHOD OF DETERMINING STANDARDS 

Now that the value of standards to the manufacturer has been 
pointed out, it is evident that these standards should be arrived 
at by the most scientific method available. 

There are two methods of determining standards in common 
practice. By the one, standards are set from records of past 
performances, and by the other, they are set by some method 
of time-study. 

It is easily evident that the method of setting standard times 
from a record of past performances at the best is unsatisfactory. 
In the first place, it is a diflBcult matter to get records that are 
reliable, for when workmen are working on daywork they are 



TIME-STUDY AS BASIS OF PRODUCTION 111 

not particular about having their job tickets punched at 
the beginning and at the end of an operation. Unless he is 
watched with the purpose in view of getting a correct record, 
the workman will invariably overlap his jobs. Sometimes he 
will even do two jobs on one ticket. This latter occurs in prac- 
tically all cases when someone brings him a repair job or a spe- 
cial job to do. He will in very few cases consider it worth while 
to punch out on the job he is working on and get a new card on 
the repair or special job. So we find in most shops that the 
amount of time spent on a job as shown on past records is a very 
inaccurate measurement of the time actually spent on the job. 

Then again, assuming that we have a correct record of past 
performances, standard times based upon such a record are 
unfair. In all factories we find good workmen and poor work- 
men. The good workman takes an interest in his work, takes 
pride in mastering his task, and turns out a good day's work 
every day. The poor workman is probably indifferent to his 
work, or perhaps he has never been properly instructed how to 
get out the maximum amount of work per day. Now if the 
record of the past performances in each case is to be used as a 
basis for setting up standards, the standards will certainly be 
unfair. The poor workman, by getting busy and learning his 
job and applying himself, will be able to double his production 
and hence his pay, while the good workman will not be able to 
earn very much, if any, more money, since he has always pro- 
duced a good day's work. In a sense we are rewarding the poor 
workman for his inability and indifference in the past, and 
penalizing the good workman for his ability and faithfulness, 
which is undeniably wrong. 

The second method of setting up standards, that of time- 
study, has been generally adopted. Since the results obtained 
by the time-study man are so important, and have such far- 
reaching effects, it is clear that the manufacturer cannot be too 
careful in choosing his time-study men. 

QUALIFICATION OF A TIME-STUDY MAN 

What are some of the qualifications the time-study man 
should have? First of all, he must win the confidence of the 



112 TIME-STUDY 

man whose work he is studying. In order to win the man's 
confidence he must be big enough to have confidence in the man. 
The workman feels this confidence and at once becomes in- 
terested in what the time-study man has to say. He becomes 
keen about cooperating with the time-study man to find out 
what they can both work out together. They are both engi- 
neers keenly interested in a scientific problem, to find out the 
most scientific method of doing the job, and to find out the 
minimum time that it can be done in. They experiment. They 
try out different tools — if it is a machine operation. They try 
different speeds, feeds, and depths of cuts, sometimes the time- 
study man suggesting, and sometimes the operator. The oper- 
ator cooperates fully, as he has confidence in the time-study 
man. He knows that the time-study man is too broad-minded 
to get all he can out of the operator, and then set his standard 
so high that the operator has to exert himself considerably more 
after the standard is set without getting equivalent remunera- 
tion for the extra efforts put forth. He knows that in the future 
he will get a reward in excess of the extra efforts put forth. The 
company can well afford it, as together they have perhaps dou- 
bled the output. 

The man who can thus win the confidence of the workman 
must have personality. The time-study man of the first calibre 
is an enthusiast and is able to rouse enthusiasm in the workman. 
His far-reaching knowledge of human nature enables him to 
understand the workman's viewpoint. He appreciates the skill 
and knowledge of the workman and makes a great deal of the 
phase of the study that is developed by the workman, minimiz- 
ing what he has suggested himself. He does not endeavor to 
impress the workman with his wonderful knowledge and ability, 
but rather strives to get the workman to talk. He is a psychol- 
ogist and makes use of the fact that the normal person likes 
to express himself. When he goes into a shop to set standards, 
he visits with the men, and makes a few studies and turns over 
the time-studies to them afterward. The men see he is square 
and they all wish their job to be studied. He is very much in 
demand. He then explains to the men how anxious he is to 
"fix them all up," but that each man can help him by studying 



TIME-STUDY AS BASIS OF PRODUCTION 113 

his own job first. Then when he comes to a job, later on, the 
workman gets quite enthusiastic, telHng him what he has de- 
veloped. The time-study is three fourths done before the time- 
study man comes to it. In some cases there is very little to do 
except take a few observations. 

ANALYZING DESIGN AND METHODS 

In addition to having personality, the time-study man must 
be an engineer with a keen analytical mind. The broader the 
experience he has had in manufacturing, the more valuable he 
is as a time-study man. There is nothing like time-study to 
bring out the weak points in the design of a part. It is an im- 
portant phase of the time-study man's work to analyze the part 
as to its design, to decide whether or not the design could be 
changed in some way to allow for its being more easily made, 
without interfering with its functioning properly in the finished 
apparatus. Sometimes such a slight change as increasing the 
tolerance by a small amount will make an appreciable decrease 
in the time required to make a part. 

Then again, the time-study man must analyze the job he is 
studying as to the method employed. He must be familiar with 
the various methods used in common shop practice in doing the 
particular kind of job he is studying and must have a knowledge 
of the cost of equipment for the different methods. Then by 
comparing the quantities that can be produced in a given time 
by each of the given methods, together with the costs, he is 
able to decide which method is the most economical to use in 
order to produce the quantity required in this particular case. 

To make this last point clear, we will assume that the time- 
study man is required to study the blanking and perforating of 
a small brass washer. He knows that in common shop practice 
there are several kinds of punches and dies that would do this 
work. He must analyze the job and see if the most economical 
tool is being used. If the quantity required is small, a cheap 
tool for blanking and another for perforating will probably be 
the most economical method. If the quantity required were 
considerably greater, a more expensive tool, say a follow punch 
and die with liners, would probably be the best, and if the quan- 



114 TIME-STUDY 

tity required were extremely large, a still more expensive tool, 
say a multiple perforating and blanking punch and die, making 
three or more pieces per stroke, might be the proper one to use, 
the size and style of punch press being also taken into considera- 
tion. 

EXAMPI^ OF A TIME-STUDY 

Figure 1 is an example of a time-study. A study of the de- 
sign of this valve brought out the fact that the step on the face 
was unnecessary, and did not improve the finished product when 
assembled. As it took a certain amount of time to make this 
step, the matter was taken up with the designing department 
and the design changed, and hence the job was made easier for 
the operator. There were no limits established and this opera- 
tor assumed that the diameters should be turned to exact size 
and spent considerable time in doing so. A study of the design 
showed that a close limit was necessary, so this limit was estab- 
lished and the drawing changed to show it. And although the 
limits were close, considerable time was saved in working to 
these limits rather than trying to get the exact dimension, as 
was done formerly. 

The method used to make the piece was then studied. The 
operator was completing each piece in one operation, chucking 
the piece on the |-inch stem. The time of the operation on 
two pieces was taken and was one hour for one and forty-five 
minutes for the other. The operator and the time-study man 
then began a study. The operator had never tried running 
the piece on centers, as he had thought that the .4375-inch stem 
was too light and the piece would spring. However, he had 
never tried it, so they tried it out together. Several pieces were 
first centered, then rough turned and finally finished turned. 
One piece was sprung during the rough turning, but a lighter 
cut and a higher speed were tried out on the balance of the 
pieces with success. The time-study shown was made on the 
final operation. The total time for the three operations, in- 
cluding a period for rest and delay, was 14 minutes per piece. 
To this was added 25 per cent., making a total time of 17. 5 
minutes. The operator was to receive extra or bonus pay for 



TIME-STUDY AS BASIS OF PRODUCTION 115 

the amount of time he saved per piece. If he performed the 
task in 14 minutes, which time was agreed upon by both opera- 
tor and time-study man as the amount of time a good man 



6 



« 



NAME OF OPgRATIOH 



TIME STUDY 



PTwraH Ttn m noMPiJDTB 



nPFR^TTfrn ^ 



PLA.CE DOG on 1/2' DIAM. & PLACE BETWKKM CEHTERS 
FIHISH TDM 4.25 DIAM. 



FIHISH TDBH BEVEL 



TDRW BACK OOUPOUITO TO FIXED GRADUATION 



SET CROSS SLIDE TO FIXED GRADOATIOH TO TORH 0.4^75 DI^M. 
FIHISH TUHB 0.4375 DIAM. 



TURN PAPER IN PIN (MACHINE FEED 



LONGrnjDIHALLT> HAND FEED ACROSS') 



Rim OnT lOOL 4 SET TO FIXED GRAD. FOR 4. 25 DIAM 



SMOOTH TAPER ON 0.4375 DIAM. i BORR ALL 
EDGES WITH FILE 



REliOTE PIECE 



ROTE- ON THE FIRST PIECE THE GRAD. OF THE CROSS 



SLIDE SCALE IS TOTED FOR THE 4.25 t THE 0.4375 HIAM. 



AND GRAD. FIXED AT ffHIOH THE COUPODTID SHALL BE 



lOT 



WHILE TURNING THE 0.4375 AND 4.25 DIAM. THESE Cd UPOONIi 



AND CROSS SLIDES ARE THEN TURNED TO FIXED GRAD. 



SUBSEQUENT PIECES, UNTIL A NEW SET OF GRAD. HAS 



FIXED DDE TO A RESET OP THE TOOL AFTER GRINDING 



(S) ALL GAGING fWITH SNAP GAOES^ IS TO BE DONE ( IN THE 



PREOEEDIHG PIECE WHILE MACHINE IS m OPERATION. 



ACTUAL TIME 



320' 



1.30 l.QO 



punch: 175~W 



ALL01ANCE I OR EEl 



2.20 
2.40 



I'OO 
1-70 



2.05 
2.20 



IWG TC3L5~4 



DP 



his. 
3.35 



3.35 
3.10 



REST & DELAY 



EXTRA 



TB£E CM FIRST PIECE 



clean: JG MACHINE 



ALLOWANCE 25^ 



ALLOTONCE FCR SET 



JP 2B 



■ffls: 




TOOLS USED 



VALVE PROPER 



3/8* S(5."BIT 



HOLDER FOR SAM8 



CENTERS i DOO 



2 SNAP GAGES 



8^ 

'STEPYVAS OMITTED 



5* HYDRO. VALVE 



HAOHiHE SHOP 



3/5/20 



An Example of a Time-Study 



would spend on it working steadily, he would receive 25 per cent, 
of his pay for the period as a bonus. As the operator knew he 
would be able to make from 20 to 50 per cent, more money he 



116 TIME-STUDY 

was quite glad to give it a trial, and was satisfied with the stand- 
ard that was set. 

A copy of the time-study was pasted on a cardboard and was 
used as an instruction sheet by the operator in the future when 
doing this job. This is very important, as in case of a change of 
operators, the new operator knows exactly how to do the job 
to make it in the given time. Then again, by giving the opera- 
tor a copy of the time-study it shows him that the time-study 
man is "above-board." The writer has seen a great number of 
time-studies made by time-study men, who were considered as 
good men, that certainly would raise some commotion if placed 
in the hands of the operator. The actual time set as a standard 
was sometimes as much as 50 per cent, less than the time the 
operator actually took during the study. The time-study man 
evidently considered that the operator was "stalling" half the 
time. If the time-study man cannot win the confidence of the 
man to the extent that the operator will cooperate with him, 
he should either do the job himself, and let the operator hold the 
stop-watch or he should go to some other operator; but in any 
case he should never set as a standard a time that the operator 
did not actually make while the job was being studied. 

BEING "above-board" 

Being "above-board" is not always appreciated by time- 
study men. Some make it a point to conceal the stop-watch. 
This in itself will destroy the confidence of any workman. The 
writer believes it is good practice to show the operator the time 
on the stop-watch in all cases where it does not take his atten- 
tion away from his work. He knows then that he is getting "a 
square deal"; and that is all he wants. This gets his coopera- 
tion more quickly than anything else. 



SIX FUNDAMENTALS OF TIME-STUDY 

BY SAMUEL R. GERBER 

THERE are two distinct elements in time-study, the hu- 
man and the technical. The success of the technical 
element depends greatly on the manner in which the 
human element is treated. 

The first essential of an investigation is the collection of all 
the available information pertaining to the job. This is a very 
difficult matter in a factory. The man who worked on the job 
for years has learned what he calls trade secrets. He will not 
part with these unless he can see that by so doing he will be 
benefited. The time-study man, in attempting to obtain this 
and other information, starts with a handicap. The workman 
looks upon him with suspicion. His past experience in the fac- 
tory has brought him to doubt the sincerity of any one who 
meddles with his job. 

The time-study man's first task is then to win the workman's 
confidence. Winning a person's confidence is the same problem 
in the factory as it is anywhere else. Confidence exists only 
between friends. To have a friend one must be a friend. To 
be a friend of the workman, the time-study man must feel that 
the operative is fundamentally as good a human being as any 
other. The time-study man must realize the great truth that, 
"A man's a man for all that." 

With this mental attitude the time-study man must proceed 
to take the workman into his confidence. He should explain 
to him the methods to be applied in the investigation, and keep 
him in touch with the progress of the work. If the workman 
should offer a suggestion, the time-study man should seriously 
consider its value. If it cannot be applied he should patiently 
give reasons why it cannot be applied. He should not try to 
impress the workman with his "superior" knowledge. The 
workman is not interested in that, and besides he takes that for 

117 



118 TIME-STUDY 

granted. We are all anxious to show how much we know — 
therefore, the time-study man should utilize this psychological 
truth to assist him in obtaining the information he is seeking 
by giving the workman a chance at it. The time-study man's 
tact consists mainly in recognizing that the people with whom he 
is associating in the shop are as human and as subject to human 
reactions as he is. 

The order of work of the time-study man is as follows : 

A. Determine if the operation to be studied is necessary 

B. Get data on the life of the tools and record miscellaneous 
stoppages 

C. Make detailed investigation 

D. Make time study 

E. Write up analysis and instructions 

F. Instruct the operative 
To take these up in detail : 

A. DETERMINE IF THE OPERATION TO BE STUDIED 
IS NECESSARY 

It is frequently discovered on detailed investigation that an 
operation which is entirely unnecessary is being done on a part. 
An operation is sometimes started because of certain existing 
conditions, and when the cause for the operation is removed at 
some future date, the operation is still continued due to some- 
one's negligence. In one case an investigation disclosed the 
following condition : A cast-iron nut about 3 inches in diameter 
and 2| inches long was being turned all over to give it a smooth 
finish. This nut was afterward japanned with two coats of 
black japan. It was used in an insignificant place in the ma- 
chine. The investigator had some nuts japanned without ma- 
chining them. He showed these to the superintendent together 
with a japanned machined nut. The superintendent saw no 
advantage in the machining operation and it was eliminated. 

In the japanning department of a large factory a sanding 
and japanning operation were both found unnecessary upon in- 
vestigation. The machine parts were large iron castings re- 
quiring a high finish. The parts were first puttied, baked, then 
again puttied and baked. They were then sanded, that is. 



SIX FUNDAMENTALS OF TIME-STUDY 119 

rubbed down with carborundum cloth to give a smooth surface 
for japanning. A coat of japan was applied with a hair brush. 
This being the first coat of three to be applied was considered 
to be of minor importance and was done with worn-out brushes 
and not very clean japan. After this was baked it was rubbed 
down with carborundum cloth to remove the rough spots caused 
by the dirt in the japan and brush. Then two more coats of 
japan were applied and each coat baked on. The investigation 
disclosed that careful sanding in the first place and two coats of 
japan, carefully applied with clean brushes and japan, produced 
a better finish than the old method with the three coats of japan 
and an extra sanding. 

It is sometimes possible to change slightly the design of a 
machine part which will make certain operations unnecessary. 
An operation can be combined with another by a change in the 
fixture or in the tool, thus eliminating one of the individual 
operations. 

B. GET DATA ON THE LIFE OF THE TOOLS AND RECORD 
MISCELLANEOUS STOPPAGES 

The investigation should start with a knowledge of existing 
conditions. These cannot be learned by casual observation. 
The observer should record everything that interferes with the 
regular run of the operation for a period of time. The length 
of time that is necessary to take these data depends on how 
complicated and variable the operation is and also on how 
thorough the investigation is to be. If the number of parts 
made in this operation per year is very small it will not pay to 
make as thorough an investigation as if very many of the parts 
were used per year. A summary of these records will disclose 
all the troubles of the job. 

While the observer is recording these stoppages and also the 
life of the tools he should note other details that will need atten- 
tion. During this time he should observe and analyze the gen- 
eral conditions governing the operation. To assist him in these 
observations the following list of suggestions has been compiled : 

1. Is the machine properly located.^ 

2. Can the jig or fixture be improved. ^^ How? 



120 TIME-STUDY 

3. Is the machine in good condition? 

4. Can any stops be placed for locating the jig? 

5. Are the tools high speed or carbon steel? 

6. Have the tools proper rake and clearance angles? 

7. Are they properly set? 

8. Are the tools running at the proper surface speeds? 

9. Is the feed per revolution correct? 

10. Is the proper lubricant or coolant used, and does it run 
freely? 

11. Can any of the details of the operation be eliminated? 

12. Should the operator be standing or sitting at work? 

13. Is the operation safe for the workman? 

14. Is the machine properly guarded? 

15. Are the limits on the work closer than necessary? 

16. Is the work of the required quality? 

17. How often should the work be gaged? 

18. Can any of the sharp corners, in the part being ma- 
chined, be eliminated? 

19. Who supplies and removes the work to and from the 
operator? 

20. Are the work boxes of the proper size and shape, and 
properly located? 



C. MAKE DETAILED INVESTIGATION 

After having obtained sufficient data the observer should 
study in detail the conditions called to his attention by each 
of the above questions. 

The location of the machine is important. There should be 
sufficient light for the workman to enable him to set tools prop- 
erly, or place parts in the die or fixture without fumbling. The 
relative position of this operation with preceding and succeeding 
operations should be considered for the purpose of reducing the 
amount of trucking. 

Placing and removing parts from the jigs or fixtures and 
clamping the work in the fixtures are details which are often 
subject to improvement. Sometimes a new set of tools may 
be necessary. But it is most important to use the existing equip- 



SIX FUNDAMENTALS OF TIME-STUDY 121 

ment to the best advantage. It is not the duty of the investi- 
gator to invent new tools. 

Poor quality of work and low production are often due to a 
faulty condition of the machine. The following is a list of con- 
ditions frequently found : 

1. End play in the spindle 

2. Up-and-down play in the spindle 

3. Play in the cross-slides 

4. Play in the tool carriage due to worn ways 

5. Chuck running out of true 

6. Belts loose, too narrow, or not heavy enough 

7. Loose countershaft frictions 

8. Friction feeds worn out 

9. Pump not supplying oil freely 

The investigator should see that these conditions are corrected 
before attempting to speed up the machine. 

The cutting tools are also a considerable factor in the quality 
and quantity of production. The investigator must know of 
what steel the tool is made, whether it is carbon or high-speed 
steel. Then for a more thorough study he makes a sketch of 
the tool as when in operation to show the rake and the clearance 
angles. This shows whether the tool is properly ground and set 
considering the class of work and the kind of material that is 
being worked on. 

The rake angle of a tool cutting on the circumference of the 
stock is the angle formed by the radius of the stock passing 
through the cutting edge, and the top plane of the tool. 

The rake angle of a tool cutting on a flat surface is the angle 
formed by a line perpendicular to the plane of the flat surface 
and the top plane of the tool. 

The clearance angle of a tool cutting on a flat surface is the 
angle included by the plane of the surface and the front plane 
of the tool. 

In nearly all cases the clearance should be just enough to keep 
the heel of the tool from rubbing on the work and no more. 

A common error in the shop is to allow too much clearance 
thereby weakening the cutting edge. 

The amount of rake the tool should have varies considerably 



122 TIME-STUDY 

with the kmd of material cut and the quality of work required. 
A tool for a roughing cut should have more rake than one for a 
finishing cut. 

The rake and clearance angles are also affected by whether 
the tool is set on center line of the work, above or below center 
line. 

The next to be considered is the feed per revolution of the 
tool and the surface speed. The feed per revolution is the dis- 
tance the tool advances into the work in one revolution of the 
spindle. This is usually given in thousandths of an inch. The 
surface speed is the distance a point on the moving object 
travels in one minute. This is usually given in feet. 



%dN 



S = 



12 

"Where S = surface speed in feet per minute 
d = diameter of stock or cutter 
N = revolutions per minute of the spindle or arbor 
To determine the proper feed per revolution and surface speed 
the following questions are to be taken into consideration: 
What is the proper life of the tool.? 
How much time is required to grind and set the tool.^^ 
It may be more economical to run the job at a lower feed 
and speed when the cost of the tool is taken into consideration. 
If the cost per piece is increased by high speed there is usually 
no advantage in speeding up the machine. From the tool data 
obtained at various feeds and speeds the cost per piece can be 
figured for each of the experiments and the minimum cost 
determined. 

The following formula was derived to assist in determining 
the proper feed and cutting speed as affected by the cost per 
piece. 

Let C = total cost per piece 
T = total cost of tool 
n = number of grinds in tool 

P = number of pieces produced between grindings 
p = number of pieces produced per hour 



SIX FUNDAMENTALS OF TIME-STUDY 123 

h = hours tool lasts between grindings 
r = hourly rate of operator 
s = time to grind and set tool 
W = labor cost per piece 
G = tool cost per piece of one grind 
rs + rh 

Then W = = labor cost per piece 

ph 
T T 

G = ph = = tool cost per piece 

n np h 

T r(s-\- h) 

C = G -\-W = — — 1 = total cost per piece. 

np h pk 

The lubricant used considering both the kind of lubricant and 
quality will have a decided effect on the results. It is always 
advisable to have as large a stream of lubricant or coolant on 
the work as can be obtained. For drilling or rough turning a 
thin coolant should be used. For reaming, forming, and thread- 
ing it is necessary to use a heavy lubricant, such as lard oil. 

A factor more important than the cost of the product is the 
quality of the work. It is of little value to find that a tool 
can stand a high feed and speed if the required quality cannot 
be maintained at that speed. Production is useless unless it 
is of the required quality. The time-study man must therefore 
investigate this factor and find just what quality is required. 
The product may be as good at the higher speed as it was when 
the investigation was started, but this is not always sufficient 
proof that it is good enough. By consulting the chief inspector 
or the superintendent it may be found that the required quality 
is such as to make it necessary to reduce the production to 
obtain it. 

On the other hand, the limits on the work may have been 
held too close for practical purposes. The limits are sometimes 
set by persons who do not realize the practical difficulties in- 
volved in living up to them. 

While the time-study man is investigating the technical de- 



124 TIME-STUDY 

tails of the machine and the tools, he should also look into the 
conditions governing the comfort and the safety of the operator. 
He can determine whether the operator should be standing or 
sitting while at work. This will depend upon the ease with 
which he can accomplish the operation in either position. The 
operator should be instructed to sit whenever the operation 
permits it. The work should be piled at a convenient distance 
to allow for safety in operating the machine. The investigator 
should see that all safety devices are in use, that gear guards 
and belt guards are in place, and that there are no projecting set 
screws on rapidly rotating members of the machine. Safety 
should never be sacrificed for speed in operation. 

The moving of the work to and from the work place should 
be investigated and move men or some transferring device 
should be installed. The size of the work box will also come in- 
to consideration in connection with moving and counting of the 
parts. 

When the detailed investigation as described has been com- 
pleted and the necessary changes made, the time-study man 
will again get data on the life of the tools and miscellaneous 
stoppages. These data will be of use in setting the task while 
also checking up the results of the changes that have been made. 
If no changes have been made it will, of course, not be necessary 
to get these data. 

D. MAKE TIME-STUDY 

The time-study consists of analysis and synthesis. The time 
to do the entire operation is usually a variable. By breaking 
up the operation into its elements the detailed operations which 
remain constant in time can be separated from those that vary. 
The machine operations are kept separate from the hand opera- 
tions. This enables us to obtain accurate time for each of the 
machining operations. If it is ever required to add to the ma- 
chining operations, the task can thereby be changed to allow 
for the increase in machine time without restudying the entire 
job. The hand operations are then further broken up according 
to convenient points of observation. 

The point of observation is the beginning of a detailed opera- 



SIX FUNDAMENTALS OF TIME-STUDY 125 

tion at which the stop-watch reading is taken. This is selected 
by the time-study man, to faciHtate the work involved in mak- 
ing the time-study. The time-study man reads the stop-watch, 
writes the readings on the time-study sheet, and observes the 
operation practically simultaneously. It is, therefore, neces- 
sary to have the point of observation such as can be noted with- 
out looking up from the stop-watch. The point of observation 
should be at a place in the operation that can be heard or a 
motion that can be seen without looking up from the stop- 
watch. 

After selecting the points of observation the time-study man 
should write a description of each of the selected detailed opera- 
tions. For example, an operation done on a Whitney hand- 
milling machine can be described as follows : 

A. Run brush through fixture with right hand while picking 
up piece with left hand. Hang brush on edge of carriage 
while inserting piece in fixture with left hand. 

B. Move work into cutter to mill slot. 

C. Pull carriage back with right hand, unclamp fixture with 
right hand. Remove piece with left hand and place in 
box while picking up brush with right hand. 

The time-study man sets himself at a convenient position for 
observation and as near to the job and the operator as possible 
without interfering with him. It is necessary that he should 
be near the operator and concentrate on the job rather than 
lounge on a stool five or ten feet away. The effect on the work- 
man is evident. 

The time-study man starts the watch at zero and records 
the readings at each point of observation, until at least 20 pieces 
have been done. Should the operator stop to do anything be- 
sides his regular work during the study, the stop-watch should 
be allowed to continue and the reason for the extra time noted 
in the space between the readings. At least 20 readings should 
be taken, but very often it is found advisable to take 40, 60, 80, 
or 100 readings. In operations of short duration and greater 
variation more readings are necessary than on operations taking 
more time and less variable. Time required to change trucks, 
gage work, etc., is also noted during the time-study. 





B 






c 






20 






17 




No. 




Time. 


No. 




Tim 


4 




8 


3 




4 


13 




9 


7 




5 


2 




10 


5 




6 


1 




11 


2 




7 



126 TIME-STUDY 

The time for each detailed operation is the difference between 
the recorded times at two consecutive points of observation. 
These times are summarized in the following manner: 

Operation A 

Total 20 

No. Time. 

5 4 

12 5 

2 6 

1 7 

Minim, time. . . 5 9 5 

"No." means number of times the operation was done in 
the "time" 0.04 minute, or 0.05 minute, etc. "Total" is 
the total number of readings that were taken on that detailed 
operation. The last column with less than 20 readings shows 
where the time-study man has missed some readings or where 
other things than those involved in the regular operation were 
done. These are taken care of in setting the task. The sum- 
mary shows whether there are any broad variations in the time 
for a detailed operation. Each operation showing such varia- 
tion is investigated and the cause of the variation determined 
and eliminated if possible. If the variation is caused by 
something that cannot be prevented it is allowed for in the 
task. 

The following is a list of probable causes of variations in the 
detailed items: 

1. The tools or fixtures not working properly. This should 
be corrected and another time-study made to find the proper 
time for that operation. 

2. Variations in the commercial materials, such as forgings 
or castings. This variable cannot be eliminated, and is allowed 
for in the task. 

3. Lack of skill of the operator. The operator should be 
corrected and instructed and another study made to obtain 
the proper time of the skilled workman. 

4. Soldiering: Unless the operator does this systematically, 
which is unusual, the time for the detailed operations will vary, 



SIX FUNDAMENTALS OF TIME-STUDY 127 

as he consciously slows down and unconsciously comes back 
to the normal time for that operation. This condition must 
be handled tactfully and according to the circumstances. Very 
often this can be overcome by assuming, not that he is trying 
to he down on the job, but that he does not know how to do the 
job. By patient instruction he may be brought about to work 
as required. 
5. Mistakes in the time-study man's readings: 
When, finally, the correct time-study and summary are ob- 
tained as described above, the time-study man selects the mini- 
mum times for each detailed operation as shown in the table. 
The minimum time is the least time in which the operation can 
be done. It is used as a basic figure for determining the task. 
A percentage of this time is added for rest and delay. The time 
selected is the time that occurs 30 per cent, or more of the total 
number of observations taken. This is based on the assumption 
that the time-study man's error of observation is not more than 
30 per cent, of the total number of readings. 

The synthesis of the time-study involves the sum of all these 
minimum times, also allowing for grinding tools, changing 
trucks or work boxes, gaging work, oiling machine, and all other 
things that the operator needs to do to perform the operation. 
To this is added 25 per cent, of the total time for rest and delay. 
Twenty -five per cent, is found to be sufficient on most classes of 
work. Where the operator waits for the machine to perform a 
part of the operation, only 10 per cent, is allowed on this waiting 
time. The total time which has been figured in minutes per 
piece is changed to hours per hundred pieces, giving the time 
allowance for the job. From this the task per hour is figured. 

E. WRITE UP ANALYSIS AND INSTRUCTIONS 

The results of this entire investigation are written up in a 
report giving the analysis of the operation and the synthesis. 
An instruction card is made out giving all necessary instructions 
to the operator for setting up and running the job. A rate card 
is made to give the shop clerk the time allowance, number of 
pieces per hour, and the class of workman necessary for the job. 
A tool list, giving a list of all the tools used on that job, is made 



128 TIME-STUDY 

to be used in the tool cage. Copies of all these forms are kept 
in the manufacturing office. 

The instruction card and analysis sheet and the time-study 
sheet contain the same fundamental information, but written 
up to suit the different purposes. 

The time-study sheet contains a detailed description of the 
operation as shown above and all other data pertaining to the 
job. The analysis sheet gives a concise analysis and synthesis 
of the elementary operations and any data which will be essen- 
tial to a correct understanding of the investigation and its re- 
sults. It also gives reasons for performing the various opera- 
tions as described. 

The instruction card contains all the information necessary 
for the operator. For example, a detailed operation is de- 
scribed in the time-study sheet: "Run brush through fixture 
with right hand while picking up piece with left hand. Hang 
brush on edge of carriage while inserting piece in fixture with 
left hand." 

On the analysis sheet this is stated: "The chips are brushed 
out of the fixture before each piece is put in, to avoid marking 
up the ground surface of the work." 

For the operator's instructions all that is required is: "Brush 
out fixture before placing new piece, then hang brush on carriage 
while putting piece in fixture." 

F. INSTRUCT THE OPERATOR 

Having determiaed the best method of doiag the job, the time- 
study man must proceed to train the workman to do the job 
that way. It is useless to investigate methods of doing work 
efficiently unless some one is taught these methods. The time- 
study man must now become instructor. As instructor he 
again encounters the human element similar to that which he 
has dealt with as investigator. When he was investigating the 
job he had to obtain information from the workman pertaining 
to existing conditions. Now he has to break the workman of 
old habits and teach him new ones. This must be done with 
persistence and tact. 

First, the workman must have a clear conception of the new 



SIX FUNDAMENTALS OF TBIE-STtlDY 129 

method; lie must also realize that this method is easier, quicker 
and more profitable to him. The instructor must present the 
method very clearly and in detail. He should describe every 
motion used in performing the operation and guide the work- 
man in executing these motions. This should be repeated until 
the workman is thoroughly familiar with each elementary detail 
of the operation. The instructor may become discouraged at 
the workman's apparent stupidity, but he must bear in mind 
that he is dealing with the obstinacy of habit. It will be neces- 
sary to repeat the directions and guidance many times before a 
thorough conception is established. It would be unwise to 
expect the workman to learn to do the job by observation alone. 
One cannot learn to drive an automobile by observing the chauf- 
feur. Nor can a child learn to write by observing an expert 
penman. It is necessary to drill the pupil in every element of 
the operation to obtain the desired result, as habit formation 
is a slow and tedious process. 



IMPROVEMENTS IN TIME-STUDY METHODS 

BY A. H. CUBBERLEY 

THOSE who are familiar with the methods followed by 
the average time-study man cannot help but realize 
that there is much chance for improvement. So I 
wish to point out a few improvements that will help time-study 
men to increase their own efficiency, and to make more accurate 
and a greater number of studies in a given time. 

For certain purposes it may suffice to divide an operation 
into large-enough elements to require only one entry every two 
or three minutes; for others, an entry may be required as often 
as seven or eight or more times in one minute. During the 
writer's experience in making time-studies containing short- 
time elements, the need has often been felt for a device to hold 
more than one stop-watch, so that one could be stopped but not 
snapped back to zero while another could be used to record the 
time of the next element. It would then be possible to make 
entries on the time-study sheet before the registering watch 
was snapped back to zero, and with such an arrangement it 
was thought it would be easier to make accurate time-studies 
provided the arrangement for operating the two watches was 
not too cumbersome. 

A FOUR-WATCH BOARD 

The time-study board shown in Figure 1, from a front view, 
was devised to meet this requirement. This device has four 
watches. Three are decimal timers and one is an ordinary cheap 
everyday watch. The two watches on the left-hand side of the 
board are connected by a tandem control so that by operating 
a single lever the first watch is stopped and the second watch 
is started, and by operating the same lever in the opposite direc- 
tion the second watch is stopped and the first watch is started. 
To snap either watch back to zero, the stem at the top is used. 

130 



1 


r 


^^,^^^ 






Hi 


1 


P;/ 


/« 


y^ j-^ 


^""^1 


W^^^iM 


^7 


MsA. 


^^ 


t" ".iridi 


1 '"'., 'v5 


K^"^ "^^^M 


W 


^miiiii 


ii^^^Ji 








Wi 


'"■dHj 






^■^7.j.jSSH 


^K'" -.—...die^^^^^^H 


* 


P^^ 


P 


/ 


/' ,/ 


'J 



Fig. 1. Front View of Tandem-Coxtrolled Time-Study Hoard 




Fig. '2. Back \ie\v of Time-Study Board 



IMPROVEMENTS IN TIME-STUDY METHODS 131 

In making studies of repetitive operations, it is good practice 
to observe the operation for a short while before attempting to 
record any elapsed time readings. Then the elements of the 
operation are written down in advance in the order of their 
occurrence. If the same operation is done differently by differ- 
ent operators, the time-study sheets will show the actual 
methods of each operator. Later on, when a standard practice 
instruction card is being made out, the sequence of operations 
which is the most desirable may be adopted. 

In making studies of other kinds of operations, if the elements 
extend over long-enough periods of elapsed time to permit, the 
operations may be analyzed and the elements written down ana 
the elapsed time recorded as the work progresses. The lattet 
method is adaptable for making studies of events or elements 
of activity which occur chronologically but not necessarily in 
repetitive cycles An example of this kind of study would be 
a crew doing miscellaneous work, or an office or factory em- 
ployee whose duties were not planned or standardized, and of 
which it was desirable to learn the percentage of total time used 
in working and the percentage lost through delays or waiting. 
Such a study would show the details of all time working and 
time waiting. It is logical to assume that if the device for hold- 
ing the time-study sheets and stop-watches is so designed that 
the watches may be manipulated without inconvenience, it 
would be much easier to make the studies and also be possible 
to observe the operations in greater detail. 

Another advantage, and perhaps the most important from 
the standpoint of saving the time-study man's time and in- 
creasing the observer's efficiency while making studies, is that 
when one watch is stopped at the elapsed time for an element 
the other watch is started automatically by the same move- 
ment. This watch that was stopped continues to register the 
time elapsed imtil it is snapped back, which need not be until 
after the entry has been made on the sheet. It may then be 
snapped back to zero where it will remain until the other watch 
is stopped when it will again start automatically to record the 
time elapsing for the next element. 

The two watches on the right-hand side of the board both 



132 TIME-STUDY 

run continually, one registering hours and minutes and the other 
registering minutes and hundredths of a minute. In the il- 
lustration, the second hand on the watch is shown making one 
revolution to each revolution of the decimal hand on the stop- 
watch. The half -hour hand of the stop-watch makes two revo- 
lutions for each revolution of the hour hand on the ordinary 
watch. After using this time-study board for some while, how- 
ever, it was noted that the second hand on the watch, and 
the half-hour hand on the stop-watch were not needed and it 
was an improvement which simplified things somewhat to have 
them removed. Accordingly, the time-study boards now in 
use by the writer have no second hand on the watch and no 
half-hour hand on the one stop-watch. 

These watches that run continually are used to record start- 
ing or finishing exact time of any complete cycle or operation, 
and are also useful to check up the individual cycles. 

The watches running under tandem control make one com- 
plete revolution per minute and each minute is divided deci- 
mally into 100 parts. Each one hundredth part of a minute is 
measured off, by three quick jumps of the decimal hand. When 
one watch is stopped and the other started, there is the possi- 
bility of an error equal to one of these small jumps or about one 
three hundredth part of a minute. Therefore, if the recording 
watches are reversed quite a number of times, there might be a 
small loss when the totals of times recorded are checked up with 
the difference between the time of starting and the time of fin- 
ishing as shown by the two watches that run continuously. 
However, one of the greatest advantages of making time-studies 
with this device is the possibility of obtaining time-studies cover- 
ing 60 full minutes for every hour of the observations. It 
will also be possible to check up the total time of all elements 
shown in any cycle against the actual time elapsed as shown 
by the readings from the watch and decimal timer correct to 
the same part of a minute as recorded by the tandem stop- 
watches. 

If any element of the operation or time has elapsed, which is 
not accounted for, it will immediately show up during the check- 
ing process. On the other hand, if the total time of elements 



IMPROVEMENTS IN TIME-STUDY METHODS 133 

observed cheeks up it will prove absolutely that the total times 
shown in the studies are true and correct. 

The ease with which time-studies may be recorded and the 
value and use that may be eventually made of the information 
contained in them depend considerably on the form of time- 
study sheets used and the elements into which the operations are 
divided. For example, if it is desired to speed up the output 
of a machine, the time-studies should be divided into elements 
that will show clearly all times that the machine is idle. If it is 
desired to subdivide the man movements so that part of the 
work being done by a skilled operator may be done by a skilled 
laborer, to decrease the cost or increase the output or both, the 
study should show the times required for each element of the 
operation, classified according to whether the element is neces- 
sarily a skilled movement or potentially a brawn or semi-skilled 
movement. 

With the hour, minute, and hundredth part of a minute, 
which has elapsed, conveniently shown by the two right-hand 
watches at any time of the day, it is possible to note the time 
that any extra cycles are started and finished. This makes it 
possible to obtain valuable additional data while making regular 
time-studies, without interfering in any way with the progress 
of the regular operations. 

READING CONTINUOUSLY RUNNING WATCHES 

To read the hour, minutes, and the hundredth parts of a 
minute accurately on watches that are running continuously, 
it is best to note the elapsed time recorded by reading from the 
decimal hand first, as follows : " .20 after 9 :30." It should be 
written thus: "9:30.20." It is then possible at any later time 
that may be convenient to determine the amount of time elapsed 
between the starting and the finishing of the extra cycle or oper- 
ation by deducting the time which had elapsed at the start 
from the time which had elapsed at the finish of the extra cycle 
or operation observed. 

When making speed studies of machines or operations, it is 
desirable to know accurately what per cent, of the total time 
of man or machine is spent "waiting," and what per cent, is 



134 TIME-STUDY 

spent "working." From this may be estimated approximately 
the amount of time that is lost which might be applied to pro- 
duction. These may easily be obtained when using the im- 
proved device by adopting the plan of merely running one of 
the tandem watches to record "working" and the other to 
record "waiting." 

No matter for what purposes time-studies may be taken, 
they should show as separate elements all times or motions 
which may be finally combined or eliminated, and also all other 
information so arranged that the results are plain and convinc- 
ing. The proper conclusions may then be drawn promptly. 
For this purpose, the writer recommends the use of graphs. On 
the time-study sheet shown in Figure 3, the narrow spaces above 
each element of the repetitive cycle are used to show graphically 
the average percentage of time that is required. If the sheet 
is to be photostated, the times may be graphically indicated by 
different kinds of crosshatching, but if the original study is to 
be shown it seems better to indicate the times for different classi- 
fications by colors. For example: 

Man working, blue 
Man waiting, yellow 
Machine working, green 
Machine waiting, red 

Colors are considered better than crosshatching because 
colors are easier to see than forms. 

If the studies are merely chronological observations extending 
over a certain period, it is easier to show the points graphically 
by reducing the times to percentages and then using circles 
divided up and Crosshatch or color to tell the story. When the 
study indicates that the total time for a complete operation 
may be decreased by reducing the time of certain factors or by 
combining or eliminating other factors, it may be desirable to 
show graphically the amount of time required when the sug- 
gested method of standardized practice is followed, as compared 
with the amount of time required when the studies were made. 
A convincing method to do this when using circles is to make 



IMPROVEMENTS IN TIME-STUDY METHODS 135 



PI amtSo. i« - PLANNIh 


4G DIVISION TIME STUDY 


r.a.-nr 6-8-1917 1 


Repetitive cycles 


. \ 


r..i.»A^o« inud guard IIo.R14X. 


'LAPSED TIME OBSERVATIom 


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04 




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04 




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Fig. 3. Specimen Time-Study Sheet 



both circles of the same diameter and to show the proposed 
saving by a clear space in the one that represents the proposed 
method. This is better than to use circles of different diame- 
ters, the reason being that with different sizes of circles the areas 
are apt to be considered in judging instead of the diameters. 
The time-studies themselves will be a detailed analysis of the 
information shown by the graphs. In Figure 4 an example of 
this is given. 



136 



TIME-STUDY 




CHART SHOWING TIMES OF MOTIONS 
OF THE PRESENT AVERA&E CYCLE. 



CHART SHOWINS TIMES OF 
PROPOSED STANDARD CYCLE.) 

Fig. 4. Ghaphic Illustrations of Average and Proposed Cycle 



The sections shown not crosshatched represent times of 
motions that are considered possible of ehmination. Sections 
shown with the crosshatching represent times of motions that 
are considered necessary. The numbers in the sections refer 
to the item numbers of elements shown on the time-study sheet. 

Average actual time required as shown by time- 
study 1 .20 = 100 per cent. 

Considered a fair allowance . 60 = 50 per cent. 



Time considered possible to save . 60 = 50 per cent. 

Possible output by present methods based on the average of times observed 
for complete cycles = 

60 -r 1 . 20 = 50 pieces per hour. 
Actual output as shown by records for past 3 months = 40 pieces per hour. 
Possible output by proposed method allowing 10 per cent, of each hour for 

fatigue, possible delays, etc. = 100 pieces per hour. 
Proposed output = 100 pieces per hour = 250 per cent, of present output. 
Present output = 40 pieces per hour = 100 per cent, of present output. 
Proposed gain = 60 pieces per hour = 150 per cent, of present output. 

EXPLANATION OF SAVINGS 

Items Nos. 1, %, 3, 4, 11, 13, and 14 are considered possible of 
elimination. Items Nos. 1, 2, 4, 11, and 13 may be eliminated 
by a rearrangement of the points of supply and delivery, so 
the one who delivers parts will deliver to and collect from a 
point convenient to the machines and at the proper height from 
the floor to suit the operator. The installation of one of the 



IMPROVEMENTS IN TIME-STUDY METHODS 137 

standard automatic counting devices on the machine will elimi- 
nate item No. 14 by making it unnecessary for the operator to 
count and tally pieces while working. 

The proposed method includes fewer and easier motions, 
therefore greater skill and automaticity should result and less 
effort will be required to do the operation in half the time than 
by the old and longer method. This, with the proper incentive 
to the workmen, should insure complete success. 



TIME-STUDY IN SMALL-PAET MANUFACTURE 

BY PHILIP BERNSTEIN 

PROBABLY the best method of training time-study men 
is to team the beginner up with an experienced observer 
for a period of approximately three weeks; during this 
time the apprentice, for we may so call him, really does no active 
work but just becomes familiar with the methods of reading 
lOOth-min. stop-watch, with the general methods of computing 
machine feeds and speeds and the technique of writing on his 
note sheet while reading the stop-watch. He should be im- 
pressed with the importance of making the most complete notes 
of the machine, cutters, gears, jigs, and fixtures, etc., in use at 
the time of observation, and lastly in the office he should be 
taught the methods of working the study up. 

SIZING UP THE JOB 

Upon his arrival at the machine or work bench where a study 
is to be made the time-study man should acquaint the worker 
with the reason for his presence. The time-study man should 
then become thoroughly familiar with the general details of the 
operation, determining at this time whether the proper fixtures 
or jigs are in use on the machines, whether the proper amount 
of lubricant is being used, and lastly whether the operative is 
sufficiently adept at the task in question really to base a sound 
rate on his performance. 

TAKING THE STUDY 

When the observer is sufficiently familiar with these details 
of the operation and feels that a fair rate may be arrived at by 
means of a study, he should begin to enumerate consecutively 
the minute movements and elements which go to make up the 
operation. These are recorded as elements in the left-hand 
column of the form observation sheet. For instance, on a 

138 



TIME-STUDY OF SMALL PARTS 139 

simple drilling operation the elements would read somewhat as 

follows : 

1. Wash jig in soda water. 

2. Pick up and place piece in jig and tighten thumb screw. 

3. Place jig under drill— Table up. 

4. DRILL. 

3. Table down — loosen and knock piece out of jig. 

The observer should time the operator for at least 20 pieces, 
and while timing, if anything unnecessary or irregular takes 
place, this should be noted in order that a proper allowance or 
deduction may later be made. After completing the actual 
study, such data as the R. P. M. of the cutter, the step of the 
pulley on which the belt is running, the length of cut— the 
depth of cut— the material cut, the kind of cutter, lubricant, 
fixture or jig number, gages used, number and type of machine, 
and present rate should all be noted on the reverse of the study 
sheet. The sketch of the piece should show where the cut is 
and there should also be a sketch of the cutter. The shop work 
is then completed and the rest of the work is to be done in the 
office. 

DEFINITION OF TERMS 

Some of the terms which are in use may perhaps bear defin- 
ing. A "cycle" is the minimum time, selected by the time- 
study man, in which the operative should complete the opera- 
tion on one piece. A "dead-average cycle" is the average time, 
deducting all unnecessary and irregular delays, in which the 
operative has completed the operation on one piece during the 
study. A "working cycle" is the time allowed by the time- 
study man, in which the average operative should complete the 
operation on one piece. The "working cycle" is obtained by 
adding a certain percentage to the "cycle." 

WORKING UP THE STUDY 

First, the differences in time between the elements is taken 
and the time for each is totaled and averaged after casting out 
any abnormal values. Then fair minimum values are selected 
and the "cycle" is obtained by totalmg these minimum values. 
The most difficult portion of the work now confronts the time- 



140 TIME-STUDY 

study man, namely, that of trying to decide just what class of 
operative he has observed, and just what allowance should 
be granted this operatiye over the dead-average "cycle." 

The ideal man to study is one who is somewhat above the 
average and would fall in a class which we may arbitrarily desig- 
nate as good. Such a man is of the industrious type who wastes 
no motions and in addition to being thoroughly familiar with the 
task in hand is endeavoring to give the observer all the oppor- 
tunity possible to arrive at a fair rate. It is obvious that all 
classes of workmen are to be found in any establishment and it 
is also true that the time-study man may be forced to make 
his observations on a worker whose ability and effort may place 
him in any class varying from excellent to decidedly poor. 

The test of the time-study man really lies in this : his ability 
to classify the worker he has observed and so arrive at a fair 
allowance over or under this dead-average cycle and thus arrive 
at a fair rate. For all operations, both hand and machine, the 
operative should be classed as very good, good, fairly good, 
fair, or bad. The following table shows the percentage allow- 
ance by which the working cycle should exceed the dead-average 
cycle; table A for machine and B for hand operations. 



CLASS OF OPEBATOB 


ALLOWANCE IN PER CENT. 




A 


B 


VERY GOOD 


20&30 


15&25 


GOOD 


15 & 20 


10&15 


FAIRLY GOOD 


5&10 


5&10 


FAIR 


— 5& 5 


— 5& 5 


BAD 


—25 8i 5 


— 25& 5 



A very good operative should be able to exceed a rate by from 
15 to 25 per cent., while a fairly good man should slightly exceed 
the rate, that is : the fairly good man or the average man should 
be allowed just about as much time in which to complete one 
piece as he actually showed on his study. 

Up to this point we have not discussed time allowance for 
grinding cutters, gaging work, washing completed work, etc., 
all of which play a very important part in arriving at our final 
piece rate. This has for the sake of convenience been grouped 
together in a class which we have called preparation time and 



TIME-STUDY OF SMALL PARTS 141 

which will be clearly brought out in the detailed description of 
some of the time-studies on various types of machines which 
follows. 

In connection with the various types of machines in use in 
small-parts production work many matters of importance enter. 
It is impossible to group and discuss these in a general way, 
but a discussion of each of the ten types of industrial work which 
follow will encompass perhaps most of the important details to 
be borne in mind in time-study work. 

DRILLING 

In working up a rate on a drill press, the time-study man 
should first ascertain how fast the drills are cutting. For car- 
bon drills cutting speed should be between 45 and 60 feet per 
minute, while for high-speed drills, the cutting speed should be 
between 80 and 100 feet per minute. The diameter of the drill 
should make no difference in the cutting speed, that is the peri- 
pheral speed of the drill should be the same for large or small 
drills. When the cutting speed is too low, it should be changed 
either by using a spindle with a smaller pulley attached, or if 
this is not possible, by shifting the belt on the cone or by order- 
ing a larger pulley on the main line. The time-studj^ man should 
also always encourage the use cf carbon drills up to | inch 
diameter, as this effects a considerable saving, for it has been 
found that small carbon drills, if run at the correct speed, will 
hold up much better than high-speed drills, the latter snapping 
in many cases. It must also be remembered that high-speed 
drills cost more than six times as much as those made of carbon 
steel. 

In order to have an additional check on the worker, the feed 
of the drill per revolution should be computed and should fall 
within the conservative limits shown in the following table: 

SIZE OF DRILL TEED PER REVOLUTION 

.001 
1 .002 — .0025 

-j3^ .0035 — .004 

1 .004 — .005 

I .0055 — .007 

1 .007 — .009 



142 TIME-STUDY 

I To compute the feed per revolution the correct length of run 

must be determined. For example, assume the depth of hole 

to be J inch, the R. P. M. 1,500, the diameter of the carbon drill 

I inch, and the material being drilled soft steel with .20 per cent. 

carbon and the time for drilling the hole .08 minutes. The 

length of run is equal to the depth of the hole + | the diameter 

of the drill which is in this case .250" + i X . 125 = .292". 

One third the drill diameter is added for the point of the drill. 

Now the feed per revolution can be determined from this f orm- 

, RUN u ^-^ *• 4- -^92" 

ula: r^ or substitutmg, we get 



R. p. M. X TIME °' ° 1,500. X .08 

= .0024", which agrees with the above table. 

It must be remembered that this feed can only be obtained 
when drilling straight shallow holes. For deep holes or holes 
drilled on a skew, or when breaking through another hole, this 
feed must necessarily be diminished. No accurate figures can 
be given for such cases as each is widely different from another. 

After the working cycle has been obtained the preparation 
time must be allowed. Usually the work comes in boxes of 
200 pieces for small parts, 500 in a box for screws and similar 
parts, and in trays of 50 pieces for larger parts. The operative 
should be allowed .50 min. for getting a box of work from the 
rack and .20 of a min. for getting a tray of work from the floor. 

The next allowance to be given is one for grinding and setting 
up the drill and the following table has been found to be useful 
in this respect: 

MATEBIAL DRILLED CUTTING TIME BETWEEN GKINDINGS IN MINUTES 

Screw Stock 
Soft or Gun Steel 
3h% Nickel 
A. & C. Steel 
Spring Steel 

For example, if the material were spring steel, the drill car- 
bon steel and the average time to drill a hole were .15 min., 
then the drill should hold up for about 70 pieces. The allow- 
ance given for grinding and setting up the drill is 2 minutes. 



Carbon drills 


High speed 


30 


60 


25 


50 


15 


30 


12 


24 


10 


20 



TIME-STUDY OF SMALL PARTS , 143 

Next comes the gaging allowance and for the ordinary pin 
hole, .10 min. for each 50 pieces is sufficient. For a more 
difficult hole, the gaging allowance should be actually timed 
out. Then the machine hand must count his work, which takes 
1 minute for about 200 pieces and also wash his work in a soda 
kettle, which also takes about a minute. Lastly, 2.5 minutes is 
allowed for delivering the work to the lot room and changing 
the operation ticket. When the preparation time is totaled, 
a flat 25 per cent, allowance is added to it to take care of un- 
avoidable delays which arise from time to time. An allowance 
of 2^ per cent, for personal washing and oiling the machine is 
given, which is based on 15 minutes in a ten-hour day. 

When the rate has been ascertained, an allowance for drills 
must be made, the operative being required to buy his own drills 
so that he will try to take good care of them. This allowance 
is computed as follows: 

Apparent rate = $ 364 per 100 pes. 

Allowance for 1 No. 3 High-speed drill for each 5,000 

pes. at $.23 = .005" " 
Allowance for 1 No. 12 High-speed drill for each 8,000 

pes. at $.20 = .003 " " 

True Rate $ . 372 per 100 pes. 

The operatives usually find no difficulty in making the rates, 
where the job is an all-day one; but frequently such is not the 
case. Often the man must change from one job to another 
every few hours, and in this case, an additional allowance must 
be made for setting up the new job. This is usually covered by 
a flat 5 per cent, allowance. 

PROFILING MACHINES 

Usually the first element in a profiling study is: "Wash Chips 
from Fixture with Soda from Hose." If this element takes 
longer than .06 or .07 of a minute, the pump action is likely to 
be found faulty or the soda water is not flowing out in large- 
enough volume. This should be remedied because .06 or .07 
of a minute has been found in our experience to be a long-enough 
average time to wash the chips out. 



144 TIME-STUDY 

When there are roughing and finishing cuts on a single ma- 
ehme, the element after the roughing cut is : " Table out, carriage 
right — table in." This element should not take more than 
.10 of a minute. If it takes longer, the table and carriage are 
probably not running well oiled. It should require practically 
no exertion on the operative's part to move the table and car- 
riage of the profiling machine. 

Another point to bear in mind is that the finishing cut should 
in many cases take almost as long as the roughing cut, even 
though the finishing cutter removes very little stock. The 
reason for this is that the operative must not hurry the finishing 
cutter if he intends to impart a smooth finish to his work. On 
the other hand, the finishing cut should never take longer to 
make than the roughing cut on account of the large amount of 
stock which the roughing cutter removes. 

As to cutting speeds the types and cutters should be divided 
roughly into two classes, namely, profiling cutters and T cutters. 
For the first class when they just clean up the stock the cutting 
speed can be from 300 feet per minute up. For the profiling 
cutter which removes no stock to speak of, the cutting speed 
should be about 200 feet per minute. For T cutters, cutting 
a slot through solid stock the cutting speed should be down 
between 125 and 150 feet per minute. 

For grinding and adjusting each cutter 5.0 minutes is usually 
allowed. The actual total cutting time that a cutter can hold 
up between grinds can be approximately obtained from the 
following table, table A being for profiling and table B for T 
cutters. 

-A- 

MATERIAL BEING CUT TIME IN MINDTES 

Screw Stock 90 

Soft Steel 60 

Nickel Steel 30 

Spring Steel 20 

— B— 

MATERIAL BEING CUT TIME IN MINUTES 

Screw Stock 45 

Soft Steel 30 

Nickel Steel 15 

Spring Steel 10 



TIME-STUDY OF SMALL PARTS 145 

The time-study man should find out whether the cut is an 
important one or not. An important cut requires a considerable 
amount of gaging, and this aflPects the rate fully as much as 
the actual machining. The operative must file the burr from 
the component, hand ream in some cases, and then try two or 
three or perhaps four gages, all of which takes about 2 minutes. 

The other allowances are standard ones, and are the same as 
those allowed to a driller or any other operative. 

POWER MILLING 

On power milling machines, a man looks after as a rule from 
two to eight machines in a group. The best and easiest way to 
study these is to treat the whole group as a unit. The observer 
should watch the man make a few rounds and see that he does 
not have to wait for any machine in the set. If the operative 
does not have to wait for any machine, then it is clear sailing 
and the sum total of the handling times for each machine gives 
the average cycle. 

Assume, for example, one machine is holding the man up 
on each cycle (that is, the operative must wait for one machine 
to finish milling). Then the observer should see whether or not 
the feed can be increased. If this is impossible, the cutter may 
be speeded up, if it can stand it. It is much better, if possible, 
to increase the feed rather than the speed, because the cutter 
can stand the increase in feed much better than the speed incre- 
ment. If, however, it is not possible to use either of these 
measures, then a duplicate fixture of the long cut should be set 
up in the same group, and the operative should handle this 
operation every other round. This arrangement works out so 
that one machine on this long operation is finished cutting be- 
fore the operative gets back to it. In most cases, it is possible 
to eliminate the wait by these measures. 

In case it is necessary to step the feed up a notch on the cone 
pulley or to use a faster set of gears, the only way to see whether 
or not it can be done satisfactorily is the cut-and-try method. 
Run a piece through on the new feed and then inspect and 
gage the piece to see whether or not it will meet requirements. 

This method is not necessary usually, in the case of increasing 



146 TIME-STUDY 

the speed, for there a knowledge of limiting cutting speeds is 
helpful, as shown in the following table: 

UATEBIAL BEING CUT CUTTING SPEED IN FT./'lflg. 

Screw Stock 90—120 

Soft Steel 75—90 

Nickel Steel 60—75 

Spring Steel 50—60 

It is not wise to go beyond these limits, because then the 
cutter will have to be removed from the arbor and ground too 
often, thereby gaining little or nothing in production. If the 
cuts are short ones, light feeds and speeds should be used if 
there are no waits, so that the cutters will not have to be ground 
so often. It must also be remembered that when milling cut- 
ters become dull, they leave heavy burrs on the pieces cut. In 
this case, the filer may complain that the burrs are coming 
too heavy, and naturally he wants his piece rate increased. 

When the group of machines is running as well as can be 
expected, the average handling time for each machine must be 
obtained. These must be totaled and then a flat percentage 
added to take care of machine and unavoidable delays. This 
percentage, which depends on the man's qualifications, may be 
taken from the following table: 

OPEBATITB %ALLOWANCE ABOVE ATEBAGS 

Very good 31—40 

Good 21—30 

Fairly good 11—20 

Fair 0—10 

Slow —25—0 

Preparation allowances must also be given. For instance, 
if an operative is looking after a group of six machines, and he 
has to wash his work in a soda kettle, say every 200 pieces, then 
the allowance must be multiplied by six, because the man ac- 
tually must wash his work six times for every 200 rounds. The 
element would be written as follows: 

"Wash work m soda kettle" 1.0 x 1 x 6 = .030 min. 

200 



TIME-STUDY OF SMALL PARTS - 147 

There are three main types of power milling machines: (1) 
Pratt & Whitney 12-inch semi-auto miller, (2) Pratt & Whitney 
Lincoln type with automatic attachment, and (3) P. & W. 
Lincoln type or Ames Lincoln type without automatic attach- 
ment. When the fixtures are simple, consisting of two jaws 
closing upon the piece by means of a screw, the maximum 
handling times should check up with the following table: 

irM OP MACHINE MAXIMUM HANDLING TIME 

(Ames ) 

(P. & W. ) Lincoln Type (Auto. Attach.) .20— .25 Minute 
(Ames ) 

(P. &W. 5 " " (without Auto. Attach.) .25— .30 " 

P. & W. 12" semi-auto. .20 — .25 " 

If, as was previously noted, a man were running six P. & W. 
Lincoln-type millers on six different cuts, the working cycle 
would be, according to the table, .30 X 6 or 1.80 minutes. 
The production on each machine is the same, because the opera- 
tive attends to each machine the same number of times. There- 
fore, the rate per hundred would be the same on each operation. 
For instance, if the hourly production were 30 and the man were 
supposed to earn 48 cents per hour, the rate would have to be 
split by 6, or 48 -r by 6 = 8 cents per hour for each operation, 
which makes the rate per hundred pieces $.08 ~ by 30 or .0027. 

A few more facts to remember about the handling of milling 
fixtures are here noted. After the piece has been landed and 
tightened between the jaws, it is usually necessary to tap the 
piece with a babbitt hammer. Three or four taps are in most 
cases suflficient and the observer should deduct all the time taken 
by tapping in excess of four taps. Another thing to note is 
whether or not the oil is flowing in large-enough volume. To 
clean the chips from a fixture .04 or .05 min. should be sufficient. 
If it takes longer than this the oil pipes should be given a thor- 
ough cleaning. 

Once in a while, when a long cut makes a man wait for the 
knock off, the length of run should be investigated. On a 
Lincoln-type miller, the time-study man should bring the work 
up to the cutter by hand, and then throw in the feed. He 



148 TIME-STUDY 

should then time the actual milling cut and obtain it theoretic- 
ally and see then whether or not the worker can make a round in 
that time or not. The point is, that in some cases the operative 
does not bring the work close enough up to the cutter before 
setting the feed and this results in an unnecessarily long cutting 
time. 

If this same long cut were on a machine with automatic at- 
tachment, where the table runs in on fast motion, the observer 
should note how far from the cutter the work stops. An eighth 
of an inch is usually enough clearance, and if the work stops 
farther away than this the machine stop should be adjusted so 
as to bring the work up to within one eighth inch of the cutter. 
This frequently does away with the need for increasing the feed 
or speed to eliminate a man wait. 

There are times, however, when a man wait cannot be elimi- 
nated by any means that have been mentioned. In this case the 
handling time plus the milling time of the longest cut should be 
used for the working cycle. As a check, the theoretical milling 

Run 

time should be obtained from the formula = Time. 

R.P.M. X Feed 
The run can either be gotten actually from the machine 
or by adding the length of the cut to the length of approach. 
The length of approach may be determined from the formula 
A = y' d (D — d), where A = the length of approach, d 
= the depth of cut, and D = the diameter of the cutter. 

The feeds for the various types of millers should be computed 
and tabulated in advance. The following two tables show the 
feed per revolution for Ames and P. & W. Lincoln-type millers. 
On these types feed cones and not gears are used. 

AMES FEEDS 

(1) .0105 

(2) .0165 

(3) .0248 

(4) .0352 

For P. & W. \<i" semi-automatics the R.P.M. of the main 
line should be approximately 200 with a 22" pulley on the main 
line. Then by use of change gears for both speeds and feeds, 



'. & W. NO. 2 FEEDS 


(1) 


.0129 


(2) 


.0206 


(3) 


.0309 


(4) 


.0453 



TIME-STUDY OF SMALL PARTS 149 

any feed may be obtained. On this type of macbine a change in 
the speed gears will also change the feed per revolution, the feed 
per minute remaining constant. 

HAND MILLING 

The time-study man should note what kind of a cut is being 
taken first of all, because in a great many instances the opera- 
tive takes too long in cutting. It is a good idea for the time- 
study man to try to cut a few pieces himself to find out how long 
it should take approximately. The only cuts which should 
take any considerable time are those which cut slots into solid 
stock and those which are circle cuts. 

For cutting speeds and for life of tools the tables used for pro- 
filing can be used for hand milling. 

Hand milling is ordinarily a boy's job and the time-study 
man should recommend a boy in place of a man wherever possi- 
ble. During the war, women were used on a good many hand- 
milling operations and did creditable work. 

FILING AND BURRING 

Filing studies should be taken on a man of known integrity 
whenever possible, because it is very easy for an operative to 
take more file strokes than is necessary or to use a dull file. 
In the latter case it can usually be detected by the observer 
either by inspecting the file or by noticmg whether or not the 
filings are coming off as they should. 

In a case where a burr is being removed, 2 or 3 strokes of the 
file should be sufficient to remove the burr unless it is unusually 
large. 

A filer should be made to purchase his own files from the tool 
crib at a nominal price, in order to keep the men from discarding 
good files. An allowance must be made on the study to take 
care of buying files as in the case of buying small drills. An 
allowance must also be given for cleaning files with file cards. 

INSPECTION 

It would be better to keep inspection on day work, but if this 
were done, production would lag far behind. Therefore it has 



150 TIME-STUDY 

been necessary to put inspectors on piece-work and to use girls 
on all bench inspection, as it is more economical to use women, 
and they are better fitted for that class of work. If the work 
always came uniform, it would be possible to standardize the 
times for various gages, such as plug, snap, etc., but such is 
not the case, and each gage must be timed out. 

CORNERING AND POLISHING 

This class of work is also done in the main by girls and women. 
The wheels usually run at a surface speed of about 8,000 ft. per 
miQ. The time-study man should inspect the model piece and 
thereby get an idea of what cornering and polishing are nec- 
essary. One of the main preparation allowances in this class 
of work is that for changing, setting up, and dressing wheels. 
The time allowed for this is as follows: 



DIAMETER OP WHEEL 


TIME TO 


CHANGE, SET-UP, AND DBE8S 


14" 




1.50 Min. 


10" 




1.00 " 


6" on Bench Motor 




.50 " 


1" Bud on Bench Motor 




.30 " 



Time must also be allowed for oiling a wheel before finishing 
the piece. 

For roughing out, a No. 90 emery wheel is used, while for finish- 
ing, a No. 120 or No. 150 emery or a paste wheel is used. A six- 
inch walrus hide or "sea-horse" wheel is used for cornering 

DROP FORGING 

Drop forging must be divided into two classes: (a) on large 
parts, where a forger and a helper are necessary for large pro- 
duction, and (b) on small parts where the forger does all the 
work. In the first of these classes the forger does the actual 
dropping while the helper loads the furnace and does the hot 
trimming and cutting off, and then returns the bar to the fire. 
The forger is rated higher than the helper as he is a more skillful 
operative. 

When the bars are long the piece can be forged much more 
quickly than when they are short. The bars when loaded into 



TIME-STUDY OF SMALL PARTS 151 

the furnace are about six feet in length. When they reach a 
length of three feet the forger must use tongs to grip the bar. 
The time-study man should make an allowance for the use of 
tongs about 40 per cent, of the time. Another allowance 
which should be given is that for swabbing the dies with oil 
to prevent the pieces from sticking. The life of a pair of 
dies is on the average about 5,000 to 10,000 pieces, and 
after about 3,000 or 4,000 pieces have been done, the pieces 
begin sticking in the die, necessitating oiling the dies; .05 
minute should be allowed on each cycle for oiling, 50 per cent, 
of the time. 

On a one-man job time must be allowed for loading the fur- 
nace with bars and waiting for them to heat to the proper tem- 
perature. This allowance is given in addition to the allowances 
for using tongs and oiling dies. On account of the fatiguing 
nature of the work, especially during the warm months, frequent 
rest periods are necessary. On this account, the working cycle 
should be more liberal than for machining operations. The 
following should take care of nearly all cases : 



OPERATIVE PEBCENTAOB ABOVE AVERAGE 

Very good 31 — 40 

Good 21—30 

Fairly good 11—20 

Fair 0—10 

Slow —20—0 



Finally, an allowance of 7^ per cent, or 45 minutes out of 600 
should be allowed for preparing the furnace, warming the ham- 
mer, and personal washing up. 

B. & S. AUTOMATIC SCREW MACHINES 

In taking a study of Brown & Sharp automatics, the actual 
cutting time for each tool should be ascertained, in order to 
see that the tools are feeding fast enough. The feed per revolu- 
tion for hollow mills should be between .004" and .007", accord- 
ing to the hardness of the steel. For box tools, the feed should 
be between .006" and .010". For drills, between .003" and 



152 TIME-STUDY 

.006", and for form tools between .0002" and .0005" and for eut^ 
ting off tools between .0004" and .0010". 

For pins and small screws it is best to use standard cams, 
but for larger jobs, specially designed cams should be made up. 
The time-study man should see that the lead cam is designed 
so that the greatest production can be gotten out of the ma- 
chine. There should be no hit-or-miss designing. The tools 
should be made to carry the correct amount of feed. However, 
the actual designing of the cam is not done by the time-study 
man, so all that he can do is to determine whether or not it is 
more economical to design a new set of cams, after he has studied 
the operation. A set of cams costs in the neighborhood of 
from $15 to $20, but if a material saving can be made it will 
pay for the cams many times over in the long run. There is a 
tendency on the part of designers to feed the box tool slower than 
the hollow mill, in order to impart a high finish to the work, but 
it must be realized that a box tool only removes about .010", 
whereas a hollow mill usually removes at least five times this 
amount, so that the box tool should take less time to cut than the 
hollow mill. 

If all the tools are feeding too slowly a re-designing of the 
lead cam is not necessary, because an increase in the spindle 
speed will increase the feed without any change in feed gears. 
However, if the spindle speed is as great as it should be, a 
change of feed gears is necessary. 

The surface speed for screw stock should be between 80 and 
100 feet per minute, while for A. and C. or drill rod from 50 to 
80 feet per minute is about right. 

When the operation is running as well as can be expected the 
average cycle should be obtained and then 5 per cent, allowance 
should be given for variation in the speed of the main-drive line 
and unavoidable delays at different hours of the day. 

For preparation time, the first item is renewing a bar of stock. 
For this .25 minute is allowed, this to be divided by the number 
of pieces made from each bar, a fact which may easily be ascer- 
tained. A bar is ordinarily 10 feet long, and if the length of 
piece overall and the width of the cut-off tool are known, the 
sum of these two divided into 10 feet will give the number of 



TIME-STUDY OF SMALL PARTS 153 

pieces in a bar. The width of the cut-off tool varies with the 
stock diameter as follows:* 

DIAMETER OF STOCK IN INCHES WIDTH OF CDT-OFF TOOli 

0— .250 .045" 

.251— .375 .062" 

.376— .625 .093" 

.626—1.000 .125" 

1.001—1.500 .156" 

When renewing a bar of stock, the end of the bar must be 
first cut o&, thereby losing one cycle for every bar. One cycle 
should also be allowed for a bar of stock running out without an 
operative noticing it. ^^Tiere a bar of stock runs out in less 
than 15 minutes, 2 cycles should be allowed; in less than 10 min- 
utes, 3 cycles ; in less than 8 minutes, 4 cycles ; and in less than 
5 minutes, 5 cycles. This allowance is made because an opera- 
tive looks after six 00, five 0, or four No. 2 B. & S. automatics. 

The final allowance which must be given is that for grinding 
and adjusting tools. This may be gotten from the following: 

ALLOWANCE FOB GRINDING AND 
NAME OP TOOL ADJUSTING IN MINUTES 

Hollow Mill 8.0 

Box Tool 8.0 

Die 8.0 

Form Tool 5.0 

Cut-off Tool 5.0 

The life of tools in total actual cutting time in hours between 
grinds can be approximated from the following table: 

TIME IN HOURS 

TOOL Screw Stock Nickel A. & C. 

Hollow Mill 7.0 6.0 3.0 

Box Tool 27.0 8.0 9.0 

Die 2.0 1.0 0.5 

Form Tool 6.0 4.0 2.0 

Cut-off Tool 6.0 4.0 2.0 

\Mien there is threading or tapping to be done, two speeds 
should be used, the R. P.M. for the die or tap usually being one 



'Machinery "Hand Book." 



154 TIME-STUDY 

half of that used for the other tools. The cutting speed for dies 
and taps should be about 30 feet per minute for screw stock 
and about 20 feet per minute for A. & C. steel. A. & C. 
steel is annealed and cleaned open-hearth steel with a carbon 
content of about .90 of 1 per cent., and is comparable in hardness 
to crucible spring steel. 

PRESSES AND THEIR TYPES 

I have not dwelt on presses at all, because there are no stand- 
ards or difficulties in studying such operations. The time-study 
man must be constantly on the lookout on all classes of work 
and must remember that it is not only his duty to set a just 
piece rate, but to suggest improvements of all kinds. 



HOW TO MAKE GROUP TIME-STUDIES 

BY PHILIP BERNSTEIN 

IN MY previous article, I stated that the best way to study- 
power milling machines on small interchangeable parts 
was to treat the whole group as a unit. To make myself 
clearer, let us take a specific example. Let us suppose that an 
operative is looking after eight power milling machines, with the 
average handling times for each machine and the components 
as given in Fig. 1, with the operation numbers also given and the 
direction in which the operative walks indicated by the arrows. 
The handling times also include the time taken to walk to the 
machine from the preceding one. Then in Fig. 1, the total 
handling time for the group of eight will be 1.64 minutes. Let 
us also class the operative as an exceptionally fast one. Then 
since the production per hour is bound to be the same for each 
of the eight operations, because the operator handles each opera- 
tion once in each round, the rate per hundred pieces will be the 
same for each operation, and for an exceptionally fast man this 
rate would be $0,246 or $0.25 per hundred with an hourly pro- 
duction of 24.4 for each operation. It must be remembered 
that this piece rate is based on a $.36 base, which with a one 
third incentive makes the machine hand's piece-work earnings 
equivalent to $0.48 an hour. 

Now a very important factor enters into the problem. Let us 
consider the orders for the three components A, B, and C. Say, 
the order for A is 1,000; for B, 2,000; and for C, 5,000 pieces. 
It can easily be ascertained how long it will take to fill each 
order. With a production of approximately 25 an hour, or 250 
in a ten-hour day, it will take just four working days to com- 
plete the order on A. 

When the order on A is completed, three of the eight machines 
(Fig. 1) become idle. The piece worker cannot make a day's 
pay on the remaining five, because he undoubtedly will have to 

155 



156 



TIME-STUDY 



Operation 3 


C 

.25 Min. 






! 


n 


2 


c 

.20 Min. 






t 


n 


1 


C 

.20 Min. 






t 


11 


Z 


B 

.24 Min 



i 



A 

.16 Min. 



A 

.18 Min. 



B 

.21 Min. 



Fig. 1. 



Rate Pee 100 foe Each Opeeation 
Is $0,246 



wait for one or two of the machines to finish miUing. Further- 
more, the company cannot afford to let the three machines re- 
main idle. Therefore, what is the logical thing to do? It is to 

' put component D, for 

Opemtion i 20 Min. which ah order has just 
been received by the shop, 
on the three machines 
vacated by completing 
the order on A. 

This necessitates a re- 
timing of the group, which 
is now set up as in Fig. 2. 

Now the total time is 
1.86 minutes which gives 
an hourly production of 21.5 and a rate per hundred of $.28 
for each of the eight operations. Let us look at all the work 
involved in changing these rates. The time-study man has to 
change his old study. The rate authorizer has to change his 
rates and send out new authorization sheets to the shop, the 
payroll division, and the cost department in order to keep all 
records straight. The chief clerks in the shop, payroll depart- 
ments, etc., must adjust their piece-work records, and all in all, 
a vast amount of time and cost is consumed in this little 
change in rate. 

With the new set-up, the production per ten-hour day is 215, 
and it only takes five more days before the order on B, which is 
2,000, runs out. Then the same cycle takes place again. Com- 
ponent E is put on in 
place of B. The time- jpperation 3 
study man is sum- 
moned again. The 

. a* 2 

rates are changed again 
and all records must 
be adjusted once more. " ' 

This state of affairs 
is enough to keep one " 2 

and sometimes two 
time-study men con- 



c 

.25 Min. 



t 



C 

.20 Min. 



c 

.20 Min. 



5 

.24 Min 



Opercifion 


I 


D 

.28 Min. 






\ 


n 


2 


D 

.34 Min. 






; 


t» 


3 


D 

.24Min. 






\ 


II 


1 


B 

.21 Min. 



Fig. 2. 



Rate Pee 100 foe Each Operation 
Is $0.28 



HOW TO MAKE GROUP TIME-STUDIES 157 

tinually changing milling piece rates, leaving no time at their 
disposal to study other types of operations. 

We therefore set about to find a method by which we could 
set a rate for each operation once and for all. This was accom- 
plished in the following manner. 

The time-study man studies each operation as a unit instead 
of the group unit. He then establishes a piece rate for each 
operation which will vary proportionately with the handling 
time for that operation. In this way, if an operative looks 
after eight machines, the total piece rate for the eight machines 
will be the same, whether we treat each machine as a unit or 
treat the whole group as a unit. Let us look, for example, 
at Fig. 3, where the set-up is identical with that of Fig. 1. 

In Fig. 3, the rate per hundred is given at the right of each 
machine. Thus the total piece rate for the entire group is 



Operotion 3 25Min. ^-^^ Operation I .eoMin. J*-^* 



c 

ZO Min. 


f-.Sl 


2 


A 

.16 Min. 


t 






\ 


C 

.20 Min. 


$.24- 


•• 3 


A 

.18 Min. 


t 






; 


B 

.24 Min 


*.29 


" I 


B 

.21 Min. 



$.15 



$.22 



$.25 



Fig. 3. Same Set w as Fig. 1 



$1.96, while for Fig. 1 the total is $1,968 or $1.97. Now, how- 
ever, when the order for A is completed, all that is necessary 
for the time-study man to do is to time the individual machines 
on which D is being run (Fig. 2), the rates for B and C remaining 
the same as in Fig. 3. 

To facilitate the work of the time-study man, the curves in 
Fig. 4 have been drawn up. The operative should be classed 
from extraordinary to slow as shown in the figure. Fig. 4 also 
takes care of preparation time. In this way, it matters not 
whether a man is running four or ten operations, the rates are 
set on each operation once and for all and are not changed unless 
the base rate is changed. 



158 



TIME-STUDY 



As was stated in my previous article, the operations should 
not keep the miller waiting. The operatives should not have 
to wait for any cutter to finish milling. 

The time-study man should break the study up into' elements 
as for any other types of study. The standard time for an ex- 




'JO J5 20 .Z5 J9 35 >J0 >t5 so J& fiO 65 ;5 .75 ^ 
Handlinq TTme j7er. Machine In MinOtes(Avera(je TTme) 

Fig. 4. The Handling Time Should Be Reckoned from 
THE Instant the Operative Throws the Feed in on One 
Machine to the Instant When He Throws the Feed in on 
the Next Machine 



ceptionally fast man or what I have termed in Fig. 4, "extraor- 
dinary," should not vary much from the values in the follow- 
ing table: 

BTMBOL ELEMENT THIE IN UINUTES 

A Play oil stream on fixture to remove chips .030 

B Pick up and land piece in fixture . 020 

C Pick up and place piece in fixture on pins . 030 



HOW TO MAKE GROUP TIME-STUDIES 159 

SYMBOL ELEMENT TIME IN MINUTES 

D Tighten thumb screw .020 

E Lock leaf and tighten clamp .025 

F Tighten nut with wrench — Lay wrench down. . .030 

G Shove pilot into hole .015 

H Tighten jaws upon piece with back crank . 030 

I Tighten jaws upon piece with side crank . 035 

J Tap piece with babbitt hammer — ^Lay hammer 

down .025 

K Tap piece with babbitt punch and hammer — 

Lay tools down .045 

L Tighten further and tap piece down again .030 

M Tap all along piece when piece is thin — ^Lay 

hammer down . 050 

N Table in by hand — Throw feed in .030 

Oi to Oe Walk to machine 015 to .030 

P Brush chips from milled piece — Lay brush down . 030 

Q Table out by hand .025 

R Stop spindle — ^Throw shipper on .020 

S Loosen and remove piece to pail .030 

T Loosen and knock piece from fixture — Remove 

piece to pail .055 

U Change piece from one side of fixture to other, . .040 

For example, a time-study man observes a certain operation. 
He notes on his study sheet that the study is made up of ele- 
ments which are denoted by the symbols A, B, H, J, N, Og, Q, 
and S. From the times given in the foregoing table, he can 
see that a skillful and fast handler should do the operation 
in .18 of a minute. He next notices the average handling 
time of the operative he is observing, so as to know in 
what class to place said operative. In reality, after the 
observer has broken down his study into elements, he can 
return to his desk and compute the rate with a right degree of 
accuracy. 

In the above table, symbol " O " varies as to the type and loca- 
tion of the machines. This is shown diagrammatically in 
Fig. 5, in which tables fed in by hand are lettered "A," while 
tables that run in on fast motion by an automatic attachment 
are lettered "B.'* 

When the observer meets with an element which as yet has 
not been standardized, he should arrive at a fair value for this 



160 



TIME-STUDY 



]HZ] 



.015 Min. 



3rQ 



04-.020Min. 



element, as follows : Let us call this new element by the symbol 
"V." If he times the operative for the elements which have 
standard times and finds that the present operative exceeds 
these values by, say, 25 per cent., then he should feel certain 

that he is taking 25 per 
cent, longer on element 
"V" than a very fast 
man would take. Then 
to exemplify further, 
if "V" actually takes 
.05 min., he can set his 
standard time for "V" 
at .04 min., because 
the former value ex- 
ceeds the latter by 25 
per cent. 
The rates per hundred gotten from the curves (Fig. 4) are 
based on the operatives earning 48 cents an hour piecework. 
Instead of drawing up another curve for piecework earnings 
greater or less than 48 cents, the following table will be found 
useful; Column A showing the piecework, hourly earnings, and 
B the constant, by which to multiply the rate per hundred, 
gotten from curves (Fig. 4), in order to get piecework earnings 
shown in Column A. 



Oj-. 020 Min. 
05= .025 Min. 




06 -JOSO Min. 
Fig. 5. Showing Hand and Machine-Fed Tables 



A. B. 

$.40 .833 

.42 .875 

.44 917 

.45 938 

.50 1.043 

.52 1.084 

.54 1.125 

.55 1.146 

.60 1.250 

.62 1.292 

.65 1.355 

.70 1.460 

.75 1.563 

*80 :.....\. ............. 1.668 



HOW TO MAKE GROUP TIME-STUDIES 161 

Since this method of timing each operation as a unit has been 
started, the operatives have been satisfied, because now they 
do not have to wait several days for all the rates to be changed 
every time one operation is removed from or added to the group. 
It makes for less routine work in several departments and 
creates general satisfaction. 



INSTRUCTIONS AND SUPERVISION 

How to Write and Use Standard Practice Instructions 
"Patrolling Supervision" — A New Foremanship 



HOW TO WRITE AND USE STANDARD PRACTICE 
INSTRUCTIONS 

BY WILLARD S. WORCESTER 

t I THOUGH the advantages of standardized factory 
I methods and procedure are to-day well recognized by 

.£. progressive managers, many factory managements are 
reluctant or indifferent about introducing any greater degree 
of standard practice. One common reason for this is that there 
is often no one available with the time and ability to determine 
what changes should be made and what the standard practice 
should be. Heads of departments are generally too busy to 
take up this kind of work in the thorough-going manner that is 
desirable. To many managers, the cost of securing a person 
for this work would seem an unwarranted expense. But is not 
a factory likely to derive even greater advantages from this kind 
of standardization than from that aimed at in, for example, 
time-studies.^ Not only will the uniformity result in the saving 
of time to employees, but it will bring about improvement in 
methods having an important bearing upon the general efficient 
running of the plant. Efforts toward securing a greater degree 
of standard practice — especially in factories having a consider- 
able number of departments whose work is closely related and 
which are called upon to look after a great variety of different 
things — are likely to be decidedly worth while. 

Probably a greater drawback in the minds of most executives 
than the direct expense involved in revising the practice or de- 
termining what the standard shall be, is the trouble and confu- 
sion incident to carrying it into effect. Establishing any new 
practice involves changes which may affect a large number of 
employees and necessitate getting every one to do his part in 
a way that will permit of the smooth running of all the related 
features of the new procedure. In a plant where the employees 
have not acquired the habit of being systematic, or where they 

165 



166 INSTRUCTIONS AND SUPERVISION 

have been habitually left to do things as they see fit, the task is a 
particularly difficult one. That there may be the minimum of 
confusion and delay, it is of the greatest importance that the 
methods followed in instituting standard practice be most care- 
fully considered and outlined in advance. 

Broadly speaking, there are two methods that may be fol- 
lowed in instituting any standard practice. One is to depend 
upon verbal instructions; the other, upon written instructions. 
To obtain the best results, use should be made of both. The 
former, especially in the form of conferences of heads of depart- 
ments, is of the greatest help in securing the cooperation of those 
who will be called upon to execute the details of the new practice 
and in serving to explain its advantages and clear up misunder- 
standings. Such conferences will do much toward offsetting 
the impersonal character of an order in writing. 

To be lastingly effective, however, personal instructions should 
be backed up by written instructions — ^hereafter referred to as 
standard practice instructions or simply instructions. Verbal 
instructions are more easily forgotten, disregarded, or misunder- 
stood than orders in writing, and do not carry the same weight 
as a typewritten standard practice instruction signed by some 
official of the company. Moreover, in personal instructions 
there is much greater liability of forgetting to explain some im- 
portant detail. 

The policy of avoiding verbal orders is not, however, all that 
is necessary. That the full benefit may be derived from stand- 
ard practice instructions, there should be established some regu- 
lar procedure providing for their preparation, approval, and 
issuing. Otherwise, there is the danger that foremen and 
heads of departments will find themselves swamped with a great 
quantity of written orders, instructions, routines, etc., issued 
by different persons, sometimes contradictory, often changed 
and not in accordance with any uniform or well-considered 
system. Under these conditions, it is no wonder if foremen 
hesitate about looking through their mass of papers whenever 
any unfamiliar situation arises. 

This was the condition which had been reached by a moderate- 
sized factory manufacturing electrical specialties. The man- 



STANDARD INSTRUCTIONS . 167 

agement had been making special efforts to improve and 
standardize its methods and had adopted the policy of always 
incorporating in writing any new standard practice affecting 
several departments. This was important, for it was necessary 
to secure adequate control over a very great variety of work. 
The company's monthly sales averaged about 300 different 
items of merchandise. To manufacture these it was necessary 
to carry a stock of more than 2000 different kinds of raw ma- 
terial and finished parts, over one half of the finished parts being 
manufactured in the plant before entering into assemblies. 
After a year and a half of efforts in the line of standardization 
and perfection of a system to meet this complicated situation, 
many satisfactory results had been obtained. But things were 
far from running smoothly. Foremen were willing to cooper- 
ate, but there was such a multiplicity of varying conditions to 
meet, that it was not surprising that there were constant delays 
encountered. 

To take a concrete case; suppose an assembly department 
discovered certain purchased parts to be defective after these 
had passed inspection and been charged from the stores depart- 
ment against the production order for which they were to be 
used. In a case like this, it would be necessary to notify the 
cost department, so that the production order might not stand 
charged with the cost of these parts. The purchasing depart- 
ment should also be notified so that provision might be made, 
if possible, for charging the vendor for the defective material; 
the attention of the one who inspected the parts should be 
called to his carelessness; and some disposition would have to 
be made of the defective material. If the foreman took the 
time to look through his collection of routines, he could probably 
find something that would cover such a situation, but even then 
he would probably find that his instructions were not explicit 
enough to cover all details of what was necessary to do. If he 
relied on his own judgment, he would take much extra time in 
deciding in just what way to notify the various departments 
and what to do with the material. The other departments 
involved, upon being called to take action, would experience 
similar uncertainties and difficulties. 



168 INSTRUCTIONS AND SUPERVISION 

What is most needed in a case like the one just described is a 
standard practice instruction which can be quickly found and 
which will explain clearly and completely everything that has 
to be done. It was found, in general, that neither of these re- 
quirements was fulfilled. The company, therefore, decided to 
start off again with a clean slate and inaugurate an entirely new 
series of standard practice instructions. The principal features 
of the plan were as follows: 1. The task of preparing instruc- 
tions was delegated to one person, who was to devote the greater 
part of his time to this specific work. 2. A standard practice 
instructions form with appropriate headings was provided to be 
used for the first typewTitten page of each instruction. 3. A 
system of classifying, symbolizing, and indexing was devised 
so that any desired instruction might be readily found. 4. The 
policy was adopted of never omitting any detail of any impor- 
tance when writing up any subject, and of keeping all instruc- 
tions strictly up to date by means of revision and additions. 
5. It was insisted upon that those receiving instructions 
should keep them on hand for constant reference, and follow 
out all provisions therein. Figure 1 shows the heading of a 
sheet of standard practice instructions. 

The first step taken under the new plan was to appoint a 
person to carry it out. His method was to make a study of 
the work of one department after another, ascertaining in each 
case the methods then followed and conferring with the members 
of the department with the object of making improvements, 
wherever it was possible to eliminate duplication of effort, to 
introduce better forms, to provide for simpler and more direct 
methods, or to coordinate the work to better advantage. This 
study brought out the fact that there was a surprisingly large 
number of cases where standardization was advantageous, but 
where previously no one had been sure just what was the best 
procedure. After the conferences the standard practice thus 
decided upon was put into writing, and a typewritten copy of 
the standard practice instruction, signed by an official of the 
company, was sent to all department heads and others affected 
by the directions therein. 

To distinguish the new series of standard practice instructions 



STANDARD PRACTICE INSTRUCTIONS 



File MOWB 
Issued: Nov. 8, 1918. 

Subject: PATROLLING SUPERVISION^FOR FOREMAN IN DEFT. MOWB. 



1. HOW THE 
FOREMAN 
WORKS 



2. SUPPLY OF WORK 
AND ITS POSITION 



3. POSITION OF THE 
OPERATION TIME 
CARDS 



4. METHODS, SPEEDS, 
FEEDS, AND OUTPUT 



5. CONDITION OF 
EQUIPMENT 



6. QUALITY OF 
THE WORK 



7. ENCOURAGEMENT 
OF WORKERS 



8. MOVING OF THE 
WORK 



9. RELATION TO 
PLANNING 
DEPARTMENT 



10. SCHEDULED 
^ STATIONS 



Fig. 1. 



Beginning Nov. 10, 1918, the foreman of 
the mill department will make regular trips 
around his department, visiting each of the 
stations noted below in the order in which 
they are given. At each station he will in- 
vestigate the following points and make a 
record of his visit by marking a piece of work 
with his initial and O. K. 

He will see that each workman is supplied 
with plenty of work, that this work is within 
easy reach, and that it is available in the order 
shown by the dispatch-order time cards. 

He will see that the dispatch-order time 
cards are placed in the machine-board poc- 
kets in the order that the planning department 
has scheduled the work, and that this schedule 
permits handling the work to the best advan- 
tage. 

He will see that the Jdispatch order times 
his work in the best known way, that he is using 
the correct speeds and feeds and making no 
unnecessary motions, and that the output is 
up to the standard as set. 

He will see that machine and tool equip- 
ment is in first-class condition, properly cleaned 
and oiled, and that belts are in the condition 
which will make possible maximum continuous 
production. 

He will inspect the work turned out and 
will see that its quality is up to the standard 
required. If the work is found acceptable 
he will initial a piece with chalk. If not, he will 
immediately instruct the workman. 

He will constantly encourage his workmen 
to do better work, both in quality and quantity 
and, if necessary, as it may be in some cases, 
will insist upon their doing better work. 

He will see that the move men are keeping 
up their end of the job, that their trucks are 
oiled properly, and that they are placing the 
work for the workmen so as to involve a minimum 
of handling. 

In relation to the planning department, 
the foreman will frequently discuss with the 
planning department head the planning and 
routing of the work so as to keep every workman 
and every machine busy to the best advantage, 
and so as to reduce the number of set-ups and 
allow for long runs. Also in order to meet 
requests for "rush" production. The depart- 
ment foreman will look over the cards in the 
planning board and will ask such questions and 
make such suggestions as he may feel should 
prove helpful in the work. 

He will also look over and compare the records 
showing actual times against standard times for 
the work done by his men, so as to know who 
are "falling down" and where his attention can 
be made most profitable. 

(Note: — Here is inserted a list of the scheduled 
stations that the foreman is to visit on his periodic 
trips through his department.) 



(Signed) 



GEO. R. WILSON, 

Factory Manager. 



169 



170 INSTRUCTIONS AND SUPERVISION 

from all "routines," or instructions issued in the past, and from 
any miscellaneous notices that might be sent out in the future, 
the first page of each was typewritten on a special standard 
practice-instructions form. This was headed in large letters 
*' Standard Practice Instructions," below which were the name 
of the company and spaces for the following items : signature of 
the official approving the instruction, symbols of the depart- 
ments to which copies were sent, the date, the number of the 
instruction, and the number of the previous instruction, if any, 
which it superseded. These sheets were punched to fit stand- 
ard loose-leaf notebooks, one of which was provided for every- 
one to whom instructions were issued. The plan of showing to 
what departments each instruction was sent was a valuable 
one, for it enabled everyone receiving the instruction to know 
whether or not he could count on any given department being 
familiar with its contents. 

Previous experience had shown the importance of being able 
to lay one's hand quickly upon the instruction covering any 
desired procedure, hence, the following plan of classification 
and symbolization was originated. It will be noted that the 
method of symbolization is based upon the mnemonic system, 
as developed by exponents of the Taylor system of manage- 
ment. Upon examination of the instructions and routines is- 
sued in the past, it was found that these could be divided fairly 
readily into three main groups; viz., those describing the use of 
special forms, those applying specifically to the work of individual 
departments, and those which could not be classified under 
either of the other headings. 

All of the new instructions in the first group were assigned 
the symbol NF; those in the second, the symbol ND; and those 
in the third, NM — the letter N in each case standing for "in- 
struction"; F, for "form"; D for "departmental"; and M, for 
"miscellaneous." As every form used in the factory had a 
symbol, consisting of SF followed by a number and the two let- 
ters constituting the symbol of the department that made great- 
est use of the form, the plan adopted was to designate the in- 
struction by exactly the same letters and figures, except that the 
letter N was substituted for the letter S of the form. For ex- 



STANDARD INSTRUCTIONS 171 

ample, the number of an instruction describing the use 
of a purchase requisition — form number SFiBP — would be 
NFiBP. 

Each instruction in the ND group was symbohzed likewise, 
the letters ND being followed by a number to distinguish it 
from any others having the same sequence of letters, and by 
the letters constituting the symbol of the department to which 
the instruction referred. An instruction describing the han- 
dling of a cash fund in the purchasing department, for example, 
might be ND7BP. In assigning numbers, the practice for in- 
structions in this group, and also in the NM group, was to start 
with one and go up, except that in each case the numbers from one 
up to a certain point were reserved for instructions of a rather 
general nature. 

All instructions in the NM group were subdivided into five 
divisions: 1 — Those pertaining to stores and supplies; 2 — 
those pertaining to tools; 3 — those which could not be classi- 
fied under any other of the four divisions; 4 — those pertaining 
to machinery, buildings, or equipment; and 5 — those pertain- 
ing to payroll, bonus and employment regulations. The sym- 
bols for these five subdivisions in order were NMS, NMT, 
NMA, NMM, and NMP. (It will be noted that the last 
letters arranged one after another spell the word "stamp," 
thus adding another mnemonic feature to the scheme.) Each 
instruction in any subdivision was designated by a figure in- 
serted between the second and third letters. Thus an instruc- 
tion on the subject of handling scrap might be NMlOS. 

These instruction symbols may appear at first rather formid- 
able to one who is not familiar with them, but it will be found 
that the way in which they are used is easily grasped. With 
all instructions symbolized in this manner, and arranged in 
alphabetical and numerical order, the task of finding any special 
one, even though the full symbol is not remembered, is reduced 
to a minimum. Naturally, the system would have to be varied 
to meet the needs of a different factory, but this can be easily 
carried out, even though it should be desired that instructions 
be designated by figures only. Still further to facilitate the 
finding of any desired information, provision was made for issu- 



172 INSTRUCTIONS AND SUPERVISION 

ing from time to time a thorough index of all subjects covered 
by all instructions. 

Much care was taken in preparing each standard practice in- 
struction to see that every detail was clearly and fully described. 
This had the result of making many of the instructions rather 
lengthy, but it was believed to be better to err in this direction, 
rather than leave anything to guesswork. The disadvantage 
of length was to a large extent offset by providing descriptive 
titles to all paragraphs in instructions which exceeded several 
pages. Whenever any standard practice was changed, either a 
new instruction was issued to take the place of the old one, or 
the change was described in a special instruction having the 
same number as the original one, but followed by the word, 
"Corrections." In such cases, notice was sent out to destroy 
the original instruction or to mark it "Superseded" or to make 
a marginal note referring to the changes described in the special 
instruction. 

An important part of the general plan for these instructions 
was insistence that they be lived up to. Conferences were fre- 
quently held when any new procedure was to be put into effect; 
the importance of following out all the provisions of the instruc- 
tion was emphasized at these and all other occasions. If this 
was found to be impossible or impracticable, the matter was to 
be referred to the official who approved the instruction. When- 
ever any instruction was sent out, it was always accompanied 
by a special receipt, to be signed by the one receiving the in- 
struction and then filed according to his department. The 
return of the receipt showed that the instruction had been prop- 
erly delivered and helped to create a greater sense of responsi- 
bility for seeing that its provisions were carried out. Any one 
who had received and signed a receipt for an instruction was 
strictly to blame if, thereafter, he failed to comply with all the 
directions therein. 

Experience has shown that no part of the plan is impracti- 
cable. A factory which has all its departments written up in 
this way possesses a record describing the procedure to be fol- 
lowed on every kind of routine work. Furthermore, the scheme 
of classification, symbolization, and indexing makes it possible 



STANDARD INSTRUCTIONS 173 

to find at once any desired information. Standard practice in- 
structions such as these simpHfy greatly the task of breaking in 
new men. The time and expense which are consumed in their 
writing and issuing is regained many times over, for they do 
away with a vast amount of wasted effort spent in seeking and 
giving special directions and in doing things wrong. 



"PATROLLING SUPERVISION"— A NEW FOREMAN- 
SHIP 

BY L. V. ESTES 

WHEN the orders have been prepared by the planning 
department, they are issued to the specific machines 
and work-places through the dispatch clerk, located 
either in the planning department or in the department doing 
the work. 

When the dispatch orders have been made out and the con- 
trol board marked up with the time that has been allotted for 
performing each operation on an order, if the job is "available," 
the dispatch orders are turned over to the dispatch clerk to be 
put into process in the factory on the dates scheduled. 

At each machine or work-place is a board provided with two 
clips, the upper clip containing the dispatch order for the job in 
process. This dispatch order will have stamped on it the 
"starting time." In the lower clip will be placed the dispatch 
order for the "next job" which the operator is to work upon. 
It is the duty of the dispatch clerk to see that this lower clip on 
the boards at every machine or work-place is provided with a 
dispatch order before the order in the upper clip has been com- 
pleted. 

When an operator completes a job he removes the dispatch 
orders from the upper and lower clips, proceeds to the dispatch 
clerk's desk and, calling out his clock number and his machine 
or work-place number, passes in both dispatch orders to the dis- 
patch clerk. 

The dispatch clerk stamps the "stopping time" on the dis- 
patch order which has been completed and places same in a 
"completed" file on his desk. He then stamps the "starting 
time" on the second dispatch order and returns it to the 
operator, who, upon returning to his machine or work- 

174 




Fig. 1. Scene in a Shup Where Traditional Methods of Maxai.kiient Prevail 




Fig. 2. Foreman, Under "Patrolling Supervision" System, Checking Work 



"PATROLLING SUPERVISION" 175 

place, places it under the upper clip of the machine or work- 
place board. 

The dispatch clerk then proceeds to get the dispatch order 
for the job which is to follow the one on which the operator has 
just started, into the lower clip of the machine or work-place 
board. This preparation will include: 

(a) Prompt movmg of material to the machine or work- 
place; 

(b) Prompt delivery of tools, jigs, and fixtures required; 

(c) Prompt delivery of the order, drawing, and instruction 
card for the "next job." 

When this has been done the operator is able to consider the 
"how" of doing the "next job" before he is ready actually to 
start the work. 

TRADITIONAL SUPERVISION 

In the shop operating under traditional methods the foreman 
spends a large part of his time in plannmg the work to be done; 
determining how it shall be done; routing it to certain machines 
and certain operators; interviewing and selecting applicants for 
employment; establishing the speeds and feeds to be used in 
doing the work; setting the piece rates; and doing a large amount 
of clerical work in addition to the foregoing duties. 

For much of this work he is seldom fitted and he carries it 
on in a " hit-or-miss "—generally "miss"— manner. Men are 
running out of jobs and are chasing around the department 
after the foreman to get their next job, or they are content to 
"loaf" until the foreman can get to them and assign them some- 
thing to do. 

In Fig. 1 is shown the foreman in a plant which was being 
operated under traditional methods of management. During 
the time that the foreman is selecting the job and startmg one 
of his men on the work, three other men are waiting for his at- 
tention for the same purpose. The losses of time from this 
condition of affairs are real and apparent, as will be seen from a 
study of this illustration. 

In "managing for maximum production" one of the first 
steps taken when production-control plans are considered is the 



176 INSTRUCTIONS AND SUPERVISION 

separation of the preparation from the execution section of the 
work. In making this separation, many of the duties which 
had formerly been handled by the foreman are assigned to the 
planning department and the foreman's time becomes available 
for the more important duties of his position; duties which he is 
best qualified to perform by reason of his special training and 
experience. 

When this separation of preparation and execution has been 
brought about, the foreman finds that he has been relieved of a 
large part of his daily routine work. In fact, he feels many 
times that his main duties have been taken away from him and 
that his job is being gradually narrowed down and may even- 
tually disappear in the near future. 

Then it is that he must be taught that the real duties of his 
position are left for him; that these duties are of the utmost 
importance; that they are the very duties he has not had suf- 
ficient time for before; and that they are the duties he is 
best qualified to perform in such a manner as will insure his 
department making the best possible showing and which 
will, if carefully carried out, place him in line for further 
advancement. 

It has been found best to teach the foreman his new duties 
in a systematic manner and to plan for him a definite schedule 
for patrolling his department at regular and frequent intervals. 
By so doing his supervision is given to all matters as they affect 
each worker. This we have designated by the term " Patrolling 
Supervision." 

Under this plan of supervision and during the scheduled trips 
of the foreman through his department he will closely observe 
each worker; note the quality of work being turned out; will in- 
struct the workers as to what must be done to remedy defective 
work; what may be done to insure meeting the standard time set 
and gaining the bonus or premium; and will listen to all com- 
plaints and suggestions that his workmen may make. 

The Standard Practice Instructions covering the duties of the 
department foreman under the "Patrolling Supervision " plan, 
as they have been applied and successfully operated in one large 
plant, are shown on page 169, 



1 






H 


>* - 


is 


1 


1 


i . 

Hi 


i\i 




r J 


i f 


•-^•^-^^^ 


L-#^ _.. 


1 



Fig. 3. Factory Superesttendent — Blackmer & Post Pipe 
Co. — Ringing Clock at Station in Pyrometer Room 

Cards on wall show standard and actual temperatures of 
kilns in operation. Chart placed on wall and shown over 
superintendent'.s shoulder is a standard temperature curve of 
kiln burning on 2A" pipe, placed there for instruction purposes 



PATROLLING SUPERVISION" 



177 



As shown in the illustration, Fig. 2, the foreman is checking 
up the work of a bench operator. The part which he checked 
and approved on his previous visit is seen lying on the bench in 
the foreground. When the part which is now being checked is 
found correct and has been marked, this part will be used as the 



FORM LVE. F8E ^ 
INSTRUCTION CARD — r^-. Sheets. Sheet &*. 




OPERATION 


TOOLS 


FEED 
IN.PERMIN 


SPEED 
R.P.M 


TIME 1 


UNIT 


LOT 




































































] 1 


















' 




L 


^ 








~- ■ 










1= 
















WHEN WORK CANNOT BE DONE AS 
SHOWN REPORT TO MAN WHO SIGNED THIS CAR 


SIGNED 
D 


». 1 




i 

-< 

§ 


3 
X 


o 

g 
o 


■2. 

O 

•n 

1 


SKETCH :- 












8 


> 


i 


5 

■3. 

o 

v 



Fig. 4. Instruction Cabd for Operator 

sample until the foreman's next visit. Due to regular and in- 
telligent supervision during the time that the work is being pro- 
duced, spoilage of work is reduced to a minimum under this 
plan. 

In the illustration. Fig. 3, is shown the department head in a 
large plant producing ceramic products in the act of recording 
his visit to one of the stations on his schedule. He has checked 
up the cards on the wall of the pyrometer room, found conditions 
up to the standard, and is "ringing the clock" in the same 
manner as the watchman does in making his rounds. 

With the adoption of the plan of "Patrolling Supervision" 
comes a new attitude on the part of the operator toward his 
work. He is gradually trained to think of what he is going to 
do next and does not wait until he is ready to take up the next 



178 INSTRUCTIONS AND SUPERVISION 

step before studying ways and means to do his work in the best 
way. 

The Instruction Card, a copy of which is shown in Fig. 4, is 
the means used to instruct the operator in the standard or "one 
best way" for doing the work he is to perform. Only through 
following this Instruction Card can any progress be made toward 
that standardization which is aimed at for the accomplishment 
of the schedules. 

This Instruction Card is made out as the result of detailed 
time-study and analysis of the performance of each operation 
and represents the standard upon which the incentive wage- 
payment plan is based. 

Trouble is encountered when Instruction Cards are intro- 
duced unless it is carefully and thoroughly explained to both 
gang leaders and workmen that their introduction is not for the 
purpose of suppressing initiative and thought on the part of the 
operators, but rather, to set up a "mark" which they should 
at least approach, if not surpass. 

In Fig. 5 is shown the operator of a hand screw machine in a 
plant where the "patrolling supervision" plan is in operation 
and where the Instruction-Card feature has been introduced, 
together with an incentive wage-payment plan. 

The two dispatch-order time cards will be noted in the board 
directly over the machine and the operator will be seen studying 
the Instruction Card covering the next job which he is to do, 
while finishing up the job he has in process. 

In this shop under traditional methods the operator did not 
have the opportunity to give any attention to his next job be- 
fore he had finished the job in process, as he did not know what 
this "next job" was to be until it was given him after the first 
one had been completed. 

Under the new methods the operator is always provided with 
his "next job" in advance and, with a proper plan of wage 
payment in operation, he is constantly on the lookout to im- 
prove his methods, reduce his time, and increase his earnings. 

Lack of sufficient and coordinated supervision and a total 
absence of a plan for instructing the operators — seeing that 
they understand the instructions that are given them — charac- 




Fig. o. Operator Studying Next Job erom Instruction Card 



"PATROLLING SUPERVISION" 179 

terize those plants where "managing for maximum production " 
is unknown. 

In the larger plants the foreman's attention must be so con- 
stantly directed to the matter of increased production that he 
has but little time to give to the subject of instructing his 
workmen. This is especially true in those cases where the 
employees are recruited from unskilled and low-priced labor, 
a type of labor which demands both the largest amount of 
supervision and the most careful and detailed instruction if it is 
to prove profitable. 

Very often it is found desirable to separate the function of 
instruction from that of supervision, placing the former in the 
hands of some of the best men and assigning a limited number 
of operators to them to instruct. In doing this, however, 
care must be exercised to avoid possibilities of any friction de- 
veloping between the foremen, the instructor, and the workmen. 

If all three parties fully understand that the arrangement is 
for their best interests, as well as for the interest of the com- 
pany, there is little danger of trouble from this source. 

The first installation of "patrolling supervision," made under 
the writer's direction, was in a wood-working plant where the 
standards had been set very high, where conditions had been 
developed to a high degree of efficiency, and where savings were 
difficult to make. 

The quality of the product had to be more than insured; it 
had to be made better and at the same time a larger production 
had to be obtained with a reduction in the cost of production. 

As a result of the adoption of the plan in this plant, the quality 
of the product was materially improved; the standards were 
regularly and constantly attained; the employees where paid 
an increase in wages amounting to from 10 to 15 per cent. ; and 
the direct labor-unit cost was reduced approximately 15 per cent. 

In another plant, making a totally different product, before 
the installation of the plan of "patrolling supervision" the out- 
put was 4,600 tons per month, at a cost of $5.85 per ton. As 
a result of investigation and standardization of conditions, the 
standard output was set at 5,000 tons per month. At the end 
of the first month's operation of "patrolling supervision" the 



180 INSTRUCTIONS AND SUPERVISION 

output had been brought up to 5,600 tons per month and the 
cost was decreased to $4.60 per ton, a saving of approximately 
22 per cent. 

In both of the foregoing cases this gain was made permanent 
only through the adoption of intensive supervision, which was 
given on the patrolling plan. 

COMPARISON OF TYPES OF SUPERVISION 

Traditional f or emanship. Under traditional foremanship the 
foreman handles as many workers as possible, giving each 
worker his next job when the last one is completed and leaves 
the "what and how" largely to the worker. If the instructions 
given by the foreman to the worker are not clear, the worker 
looks up the foreman for further instructions, the work being 
stopped until sufficient information is given to the worker to 
proceed. 

It is left to the workman to select the tools which he is to use; 
to determine the best method for doing the work; to arrange a 
feed and speed combination — through trial and error — that will 
permit doing the work; and to bring the job through to the best 
of his ability. 

If mistakes are made in the set-up of the tools and incorrect 
work is produced, it is only found when the parts are sent to 
the inspection department for the final checking when the job 
is finished — too late to be corrected. 

A uniform high quality of work, combined with the maximum 
quantity, is impossible and the costs of the work produced 
fluctuate widely. The losses from spoiled work are always 
excessive. 

Functional foremanship. Under the functional plan of fore- 
manship a number of foremen — usually eight — are brought into 
direct contact with the workers. Each foreman is a specialist 
in the function he performs and he confines his attention to this 
function only. 

While it is recognized that the several qualifications which are 
developed in the different foremen under functional manage- 
ment are seldom found in any one individual, the plan, as it 
has been advocated, has seldom been found possible of applica- 



"PATROLLING SUPERVISION" 181 

tion, because of disturbance of the human factor in dealing with 
a number of bosses. 

A modified functional foremanship plan, where certain quah- 
fications are developed in one gang boss, and with the prepara- 
tion work handled by the personnel of the planning department 
and the employment and discipline of the workers handled 
through the employment department, has frequently been in- 
troduced with decided success. 

"Patrolling supervision." In many industries the cost of 
inspection, if the inspection operation is performed after the 
work is completed at each step in its various stages, reaches a 
considerable sum. 

In some lines of manufacture it is considered essential that 
this inspection be carried out on each part after the performance 
of each operation. In the large majority of industries, however, 
it is only necessary that the inspection be done after a lot of 
parts have been completed on any one operation, or after a 
certain group of these operations has been completed. 

With the adoption of the " patrolling-supervision " plan it is 
very often found possible to save a large amount of the inspec- 
tion cost, at the same time improving the quality and reducing 
the losses from spoiled work. 

Where the inspection is not performed until after the work 
is done, mistakes and bad work cannot be corrected on that lot. 
The only correction that can be applied is to throw out the bad 
work and "get after" the foreman to prevent its recurrence. 

"Patrolling supervision" places the responsibility for good 
work upon the foreman and shows him how to get it — during 
the time the work is being done — as well as bringing the workers 
into a closer touch with the management through their system- 
atic and direct contact with the foreman. 

In one plant where this plan was largely introduced from the 
inspection standpoint, the cost of inspection of the product was 
reduced nearly $25,000 per year, directly due to the possibilities 
of correcting defective work before it had progressed too far, 
and training each worker systematically in the standards of 
workmanship which had to be maintained. 



ANALYSIS 

Improving Shop Methods by Analysis 



IMPROVING SHOP METHODS BY ANALYSIS 

BY L. V. ESTES 

A NALYSIS is a catch word that is frequently on the 
/\ tongues of those who are trying to solve the problems 
±\. of the present-day business world. It is a word too 
often misused to convey the idea that it is in some way the solu- 
tion of many difficulties. Nevertheless, this is not the case, tor 
it is not in itself a means of overcoming troubles. The careful 
analysis of a problem, however, is the first step toward its solu- 
tion This word has a very definite significance, and before 
considering the proposition which is before us, it would be well 
to make sure that its meaning is completely understood. Analy- 
sis is nothing more or less than the separation of a thmg, a 
proposition, a problem into its component parts, the orderly 
classification of those parts or elements, and their thorough 
examination. When we speak of scientific analysis, we mean 
that this separation is done with painstaking attention to 
detail, that the various elements are carefully weighed or meas- 
ured, and the relations between them are defined with dis- 

tinctness. 

Analysis is the preparation for future constructive work; it 
gives us the material with which to build. From the various 
elements that analysis presents for our consideration we can 
pick the ones which we wish to use. We can see just what their 
relationship has been to all the other elements in the past, and 
so be able to avoid combinations in the future that will fail to 
give us the results we desire. Without analysis of the problem 
which is before us our approach to it is blind, and we can only 
follow empirical rules which are almost as likely to lead us astray 
as to conduct us to the desired end. Analysis, therefore, while 
not in itself constructive, is the basis, the foundation on which 
our structure is built, and only as we have carefully analyzed the 
problem before us can we hope to build a lasting edifice. 

185 



186 ANALYSIS 



FRUITS OF ANALYSIS 

The leaders in tlie business world have already begun to study 
and analyze their problems and the first fruits of their efforts 
have been realized. The result of their analysis has been to 
break up the large problem which is before them into a number 
of lesser problems which in turn need the same sort of treatment 
as the principal proposition has received. Because the selling 
side of the industrial world has perforce drawn on men who are 
articulate and who are trained to express themselves with ease 
and vigor, the claims to the distributing side of business have 
received more attention and consideration than the production 
side, whose executives have been primarily doers and not 
talkers. This is in spite of the fact that the men in charge of 
the selling side of the business have relied on personality rather 
than on facts as revealed by analysis. Hence, the factory has 
not received the attention that it has needed for it has not been 
able to present its side of the case with such cogency as the sell- 
ing side. Now the time has come when the factory is beginning 
to come to its own and to receive the thoughtful study that it 
deserves. Since the men who are attacking its problems are 
in large measure the men with an engineering training, the 
work which they are doing is being done with an accuracy and 
care which are making the results of special worth. 

MOST FACTORY EXECUTIVES ARE ENGINEERS 

The fact that most of the men who have been working on 
the factory problems have been engineers, has made it per- 
fectly natural that they should first study the problems that are 
nearest to their profession. So we find that much progress has 
been made in solving the shop problems along the line of time- 
studies and the related subjects of speeds and feeds, the com- 
position of tool steels, the shape of tools, the design of new and 
automatic machines, and other kindred subjects. Scientific 
management has been developed, and as a part of its work it 
has done much to obtain control of the material, the orders, and 
the sequence of operations — in short, the planning of the work 
to be done. 



IMPROVING SHOP METHODS BY ANALYSIS 187 

The demand for new and convenient articles by the American 
public has stimulated the inventive genius of the American de- 
signer so that new ideas are constantly taking on concrete form 
and being presented to the public. The analysis of all these 
phases of the problem of production bear on the problem of the 
shop, but in most cases they have been approached from some 
other point of view than that of the shop itself. We want to 
show in this article how the analysis of these and other similar 
problems from the standpoint of the shop can greatly benefit 
the shop and help it render its most efficient service to the busi- 
ness of which it is part, and hence, to the general public which 
the business is trying to serve. 

KNOWLEDGE OF THE PRODUCT IS FUNDAMENTAL 

The first step toward an understanding of shop methods and 
hence toward their improvement is a thorough knowledge of the 
product that is being manufactured. It is the first element that 
should be analyzed in the work of improving shop methods. 
It is almost self-evident that a knowledge of the purpose for 
which an article is made and the way it is put together is an 
essential for a complete and adequate comprehension of the 
processes involved in its manufacture, and yet there are many, 
perhaps it would be truthful to say most, shops in which the 
men do not have any real comprehension of the "why" and 
"how" of the product they are working on. It is not simply 
the men at the machines who do not know these details, for in 
the highly subdivided state of the processes of modern industry 
it could hardly be expected that they would. The foremen and 
even the superintendents sometimes do not have a real under- 
standing of the product that they are turning out. 

The analysis of an article is really a study of how it is made 
and why it is put together in that particular fashion. The first 
consideration in designing a product is so to construct it that it 
shall render the intended service to the customer. Unless this 
condition is fulfilled, all other desirable points that it may have 
are worthless. To give satisfactory service the article must be 
planned to meet the conditions of service to which it will be sub- 
jected. Farm machinery, for example, must be made strong 



188 ANALYSIS 

and rugged, but a great deal of attention need not be given to 
the accuracy of the parts. The product must be designed to 
have sufficient strength without too much weight, except in the 
cases where weight is desirable to give stability to the article, 
as is the case in the bed of an engine. This balance between 
weight and strength is one of the important elements to be con- 
sidered in designing any article. It is one that has material 
bearing on the shop methods used, for weight is an important 
factor in the moving and handling of parts in the course of 
manufacture. 

EASE OF REPAIR MUST BE CONSIDERED 

Perhaps the most neglected element in the design of an article, 
so far as the customer is concerned, is attention on the part of 
the designer to the ease with which necessary repairs may be 
made. In spite of all that may be done to assure strength and 
stability to the product, there are inevitably cases where repairs 
are necessary. It should be possible to make these without 
having to take the whole article to pieces or to send it to the fac- 
tory. Most important of all is to have the article so designed 
that the ordinary care that it needs may be given it without too 
much trouble. 

A good instance of a bad example is the case of a certain farm 
tractor that is so designed that it is necessary to remove the 
gasoline tank in order to grind the valves. Such an example 
as this is due either to great carelessness on the part of the de- 
signer, or else to a complete failure on his part to really analyze 
the question of design from the standpoint of the customer who 
is the man who pays the bills, and who makes or breaks the 
company in the long run. A careful analysis of the purpose 
for which the article is destined, and the conditions under which 
it is to be operated should have eliminated such difficulties at 
the start. Such an analysis is necessary as a basis for the fur- 
ther study of the product from the point of view of its manufac- 
ture in the shop. 

ECONOMY OF MANUFACTURE 

When the product has been analyzed from the point of view 
of its service to the customer, the next step and the one in 



IMPROVING SHOP METHODS BY ANALYSIS 189 

which the shop is most vitally interested is its analysis from 
the standpoint of economy of manufacture. Usually the posi- 
tion of the customer receives some consideration at the hands 
of the designer, but all too frequently — unless the designer is a 
man who has had shop experience — the economy of manufac- 
ture and the convenience of the shop are largely neglected. 

STANDARDIZATION OF PARTS 

It is very much to the interest of the economy of manufacture 
and ease of production in the shop to have all the parts standard- 
ized as far as possible. Nothing is more trying to the men in 
the shop than to find that they are held up because some little 
part like the screw or bolt is lacking and that some time must 
elapse before it can be secured because it happens to be a special 
screw or bolt. In the great majority of cases it will be found 
on investigation that some standard screw, which could easily 
be bought on the open market at any time, would have done 
just as well if the designer had only decided to use it instead of 
employing the special part which happened at the time to suit 
his particular fancy. 

Not only will analysis of the product show that standard 
articles may be used in its manufacture to a large extent, but 
also that their number may be kept within narrow limits by 
careful thought in planning the product. The resulting im- 
provement in the shop will be felt in two ways — the absence 
of delays due to the lack of some small special part, and the 
ease and economy of manufacture in making up large quantities 
of a standard part at one time. The standardization of such 
small articles that are common to many industries must be 
carried to the limit, and this may easily be done if the product 
is systematically analyzed before it is designed. 

STANDARDIZATION OF PARTS PECULIAR TO A PARTICULAR 

BUSINESS 

Each business has a product some of whose parts are peculiar 
to it and which are not used outside of its line, or frequently, 
however, careful analysis of the product will reveal the fact 
that there are many parts that may be used on many different 



190 ANALYSIS 

models, and which, for the business in question, may be fully 
standardized. A certain manufacturer of the Corliss engine 
has shown how this may be done to the great advantage of both 
himself and his customer. The demands for different types 
and kinds of engines are almost as numerous as the orders re- 
ceived. This manufacturer has designed certain standard 
parts, such as the bed, the cylinders, the fly-wheels. If the or- 
der comes for an engine to develop a certain horsepower with 
low-pressure steam, the manufacturer can make a selection 
from among his standard beds, cylinders, and fly-wheels, and 
get the right combination at once. If the order comes for the 
same horsepower, but to be developed by the use of high- 
pressure steam, he would use the same bed and fly-wheel but 
simply change the cylinders. 

This simplicity of construction is the result of careful analysis 
of the problem that was before the company. Not only does 
the customer get better and much quicker service as a result, 
but in addition such a type of manufacture greatly simplifies 
the work of the shop and the methods that are employed there. 
Production is standardized and made regular. The business 
becomes a manufacturing proposition instead of a jobbing con- 
cern, and all the benefits to the shop of manufacturing a regular 
product over doing a jobbing business are obtained. The rush 
and hurry, the forgetting and lack of ability to keep promises, 
all are greatly reduced when work becomes in large measure a 
matter of producing parts for stock. Any simplicity that may 
be obtained without sacrificing other important things is a di- 
rect gain. 

FAULTS IN DESIGN 

Analysis of the product will also show that parts have been 
giving trouble either during the course of manufacture or to 
the customer in the use of the article. These parts should be 
eliminated and satisfactory ones substituted. It is a serious 
hindrance to the work of the shop to be obliged to fabricate 
parts whose delicacy makes them subject to breakage. The 
manufacturer of an automobile designed an engine on which, 
as is frequently the case, the water connection was bolted di- 



IMPROVING SHOP METHODS BY ANALYSIS 191 

rectly to the cylinder head casting. The flange on this cyHnder 
head casting was made so light that in handhng during manu- 
facture and in bolting the water connection to it, many of these 
flanges were broken, and as a result the whole cylinder head 
casting block had to be scrapped. It is equally embarrassing 
to have to constantly interrupt the ordinary course of manu- 
facture to make up large quantities of repair parts. Careful 
analysis will result in the ehmination of such parts from the 
product already being manufactured and will prevent them 
from creeping in as standard elements of the articles that are 
being newly designed. 

CHOICE OF MATERIAL 

Analysis of the product will further offer the possibihty of 
getting along without the use of material that is either difficult 
to obtain in the market or is difficult to process in the shop. 
It is a distinct benefit to the shop when it is possible to substi- 
tute easily worked metals for ones that are refractory. The 
expense and difficulty of working platinum has resulted in the 
developing of a new alloy whose basis is gold, called "white 
gold," which has almost the same appearance as platinum, which 
is less expensive and far easier to manipulate. It is also a very 
important advantage to the shop if it is not dependent on the 
use of a material which not infrequently results in the work 
being held up for lack of that material. 

Improvement in shop methods by careful study of the pro- 
duct is most closely touched when the design of the article for 
ease in manufacture is considered. Analysis will show the way 
to greatly facihtate methods of moving and working upon the 
material in the shop. The product should be designed to be 
easily held in the jigs and fixtures which may be used in con- 
nection with its processing. Very frequently some very simple 
change in design, the addition of a holding boss, for example, 
will make a great deal of difference in the ease with which the 
workman may do his task, and in the expense of accomplishing 
the work. Innumerable instances may easily be found to illus- 
trate how lack of thought on the part of the designer has re- 
sulted in greatly increased toil and expense in the shop. 



192 ANALYSIS 

Take the ease of an automobile engine which was designed 
to use drilled holes for lubrication instead of tubes. It was 
found on examination that these holes had in certain instances 
to be drilled at compound angles. In one case it was discovered 
that one hole had to be drilled five inches deep at a compound 
angle to meet another hole drilled three inches deep also drilled 
at another and different compound angle. Any shop man will 
recognize instantly the difficulties presented and will appreciate 
the care involved in correctly performing this operation. 

Another instance will be all that space allows discussion of 
in this paper. A water-circulating pump was designed to be 
formed in halves in such a way that machining to four accurate 
dimensions was required when a slight change in the design 
would have permitted the pump to be made in halves as before 
but with only one accurate dimension replacing the four to be 
machined. 

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT 

Work in the shop may be greatly simplified if the product is 
so planned that special machines are not needed for its manufac- 
ture. Frequently slight changes in design will permit the use 
of standard machines instead of requiring the design and 
making or purchase of special equipment. It must be borne 
in mind, however, that ease and efficiency of manufacture must 
not be sacrificed for the sake of using standard equipment, for 
often the economy of manufacture depends on the use of special 
machinery. On the other hand, there are too many small shops 
that are engaged in making some line of product a demand for 
which is very likely to be temporary and for which they design 
special machines only to find in a short time that the special 
machines are useless and that the large sums of money which 
they have cost have been practically wasted. 

A motor car manufacturer had a special boring machine 
for boring the cylinders in a four-cylinder engine block. 
The following year, he brought out a six-cylinder motor, expect- 
ing to bore the cylinders on the same boring machine. He dis- 
covered, however, after the engine was completely designed, 
that the minimum distance between the centers of the heads of 



IMPROVING SHOP METHODS BY ANALYSIS 193 

the boring machine was greater than the distance between the 
centers of the cyhnders of the new engine. Judgment is re- 
quired in cases like this, but in any event a careful analysis of 
the product from the point of view of the desirability of special 
machines will furnish a basis for judgment and so make the de- 
cision something more than a wild guess. 

Almost as a corollary is the necessity to analyze the product 
to see if, in its manufacture, special tools are needed or may be 
dispensed with. Special tools are always a great expense, and 
delays in their production are almost always the rule. The 
satisfactory operation of the shop will be materially promoted 
by the elimination of special tools whenever possible. Once 
more the relative importance of the use of special tools or the 
making of the product without their use must be weighed, keep- 
ing in mind the fact that other factors than the design of the 
product, such as the quantity to be manufactured, must be 
considered. None of these other elements can be thought 
about, however, unless the possibility of using standard tools 
has been ascertained, and since this fact is dependent in many 
cases on the design of the product, it can be determined only 
by its analysis from this point of view. 

USE OF STANDARDIZED PROCESSES 

Analysis of the product should be made to ascertain whether 
or not it is possible that the article be made according to the 
standard processes employed in the factory. This is very im- 
portant from the point of view of the shop and its methods. 
If it is found that the article may be assembled and that all of 
the parts for the assembly are either standard or can be made 
according to the usual methods, the work can be handled much 
more easily than if it is necessary to plan and follow new 
methods. 

By using standard methods, unit time-studies may be used to 
advantage, and the work of setting rates, establishing standard 
times for operations, and the coordinating of the work in the 
shop may all be greatly facilitated. In addition, standard 
routing may be followed, and the procedure of the shop stand- 
ardized with resulting ease and control of the work, and de- 



194 ANALYSIS 

creased cost of production. A manufacturer turned out a 
device made in various sizes and contained in a metal box 
whose cover was formed by drawing the sheet steel in a punch 
press. It was possible to make the covers of the smaller size 
boxes with one drawing, but, for a long time, it was necessary 
to draw the large-size covers twice in order to properly form 
them. A slight change in design and a httle difference in the 
steel made possible the forming of the larger covers by one draw- 
ing in the same way that the smaller covers were made, and so 
standardized the routing. 

Finally analysis of the product should result iu the product 
being so designed that it may be easily and quickly assembled, 
knocked down for shipment, and reassembled at the place of 
business of the customer. It may be seen from this discussion 
that the analysis of the product is the first manner in which the 
principle of analysis may be employed to aid in the improve- 
ment of shop methods. Not only will such analysis prove of 
direct worth to the shop but it will also prove to be of value to 
other parts of the company's business. 

ANALYSIS OF MACHINERY 

After the product has been studied in a painstaking manner, 
and the results recorded that they may be available for future 
use, it is next desirable to analyze some of the other factors iu 
the shop, and the most logical place to begin is with the machine 
on which the work of production is to be carried on. Pro- 
duction centers would be a better word than machines, for it 
does not make any difference, so far as the principle of analysis 
is concerned, whether the processes are carried on by what is 
commonly known as a machine, or whether it makes use of vats, 
ovens, or some other equipment. 

Analysis of the work to be done and the conditions in the shop 
will determine what the really necessary machines and equip- 
ment are. Frequently it will be possible to perform a certain 
operation on two different machines, and it will be necessary 
to choose between them. Much will depend on the kind of 
work that is usually performed by the company. In a shop 
doing a jobbing business, it is especially important that the 



IMPROVING SHOP METHODS BY ANALYSIS 195 

work of the shop be analyzed and the right selection of machines 
be made. In a shop of that character, the work that comes is 
of a very wide variety, and the shop must be equipped to handle 
it. At the same time, it must not be loaded with machinery 
that it has occasion to use only infrequently. 

On the other hand, in the shop where the production is on a 
large scale, and the product is manufactured with little or no 
change in design over long periods, the question of machinery 
is rather one of selecting or designing the right kind of special 
machines. Building special machines is an expensive proposi- 
tion and must be done with the greatest care. Sometimes a 
careful study of a situation and a little ingenuity will save a com- 
pany heavy capital expenditure. A truck manufacturer was 
on the point of ordering the construction of a special machine, 
whose cost was estimated at over $1,000 for the machining 
of a ball-and-socket joint for a radius rod. His proposition was 
analyzed by an engineer who worked out a much less expensive 
method. This engineer found a lathe, which had been practi- 
cally discarded, and designed some special tools for use with 
this machine which cost only $200 and which allowed the ma- 
chining to be done as cheaply as it had been hoped to accomplish 
it on the special machine. Analysis of the work will show what 
are the probable limits of the changes which the equipment will 
be obliged to accommodate and, with this in mind, the machines 
may be designed with the assurance that there is every prospect 
of their fulfilling the needs of the company. In the twilight 
zone between these two classes comes the work where quantity 
involved is such that it is difficult to decide whether or not it is 
worth while to build special machines. These special machines 
would do the work when working more economically than 
standard machines but, of necessity, would lie idle a certain part 
of the time. Standard machines, on the other hand, would 
not do the work so inexpensively, but would be running 
almost continually. This is the class of work that requires 
the most careful analysis and that will reward the work 
involved most richly. Since the details of shop methods 
will depend in large measure on the kind of machines that 
are used, it is very important that this step in the consideration 



196 ANALYSIS 

of the problem of the shop receive thorough and painstaking 
attention, 

ANALYSIS OF TOOLS 

One always thinks of tools in connection with the machines 
in which they are used. There is hardly any subject that is of 
more vital importance to the smooth functioning of the shop 
than the question of tools. It is a matter that has not received 
the careful attention in the past, with few conspicuous excep- 
tions, that it has deserved. It has often been the custom to 
think of the work of the tool-maker as something that is not 
subject to the same scientific control that we have come to 
think of as the necessary accompaniment of a well-regulated 
shop, and yet there is no fundamental reason why this should 
be so. The designing and making of tools is subject to the same 
control that a similar product made in the shop is amenable to. 
The reason why the tool-maker and designer have been con- 
sidered in a class apart is the fact that little or no time and 
energy has been given to the consideration of the design and 
especially to the making of tools. Analysis of the tool problem 
will show that much can be done toward control. During the 
past war, when tool-makers were almost unobtainable, a certain 
concern was forced to give the matter the attention that it de- 
served and as the result of its analysis of their problem, it was 
found that it did not need skilled tool-makers to run the ma- 
chines that produced the tools, any more than skilled machin- 
ists were needed in the shops to tend the ordinary machines. 
Resolving the problem into its elements and the putting of 
those elements together in logical sequence was the means for 
attaining this result. 

In modern industry the tools are very important, for the 
whole matter of interchangeability of parts and quantity manu- 
facture depends in large measure on their correct fabrication. 
No work can proceed till the tools are designed, and designed 
correctly. This was also proved very conspicuously during this 
past war when many a manufacturer found that his work was 
held up and his plans deranged, his contracts cancelled and his 
profits lost because he did not know and understand the problem 



IMPROVING SHOP METHODS BY ANALYSIS 197 

which the design and manufacture of his tools presented to him. 
This was due simply and solely to the fact that there were 
very few manufacturers who had ever really analyzed the 
problem. 

QUANTITY OF PRODUCT TO BE MADE 

One of the fundamental questions which must be settled 
before the design of tools begins is that of quantity production. 
It brings up the same question that has been discussed in the 
case of machines; for the need and desirability of special tools 
depends on the quantity of the manufactured goods that the 
factory expects to turn out at one time. If the quantity is to 
be small, the desirability of employing only standard tools is 
greatly increased even though it may increase the cost of manu- 
facture, for it is highly unwise to tie up a large amount of capi- 
tal in tools that will probably be used only once. Only analysis 
of the work that the shop is expected to do will furnish a basis 
for an adequate judgment on this matter. 

SHOP LAYOUT 

"When once the question of what machines are to be used and 
the tools which are to be employed in them are settled, the next 
problem to be analyzed is their location in the shop. This 
question of the location of the various machines in the shop is 
a matter of great consequence in the endeavor to obtain the 
maximum benefit from their possession. Analysis of the rout- 
ing of the work through the factory is the basis for satisfactory 
shop layout. As in the other phases of the application of analy- 
sis to improvement of shop methods, we find that here there 
are two extremes. There is the jobbing shop where each job 
has to be routed and planned on its own merits, and the con- 
tinuous process shop where each day is just like every other 
day so far as the course of the work is concerned. In a jobbing 
shop, a careful consideration of the question of shop layout will 
indicate that it is generally best to group the machines accord- 
ing to the types and kinds of machines instead of according to 
the sequence of operations that are to be performed on the job. 
This because the sequence of the work is seldom twice the same, 



198 ANALYSIS 

and it is easier to maintain control of the work in the shop if the 
location of each class of machine is definitely settled upon. 

The other extreme may be illustrated by an automobile shop 
which makes one standard style of chassis and only one. Here 
it is much better to plan the work so that it will never have to 
double back on its course but always move in a "straight line." 
In this instance the machines should be located so that the work 
may be performed on each article without the necessity of that 
article leaving the beaten track. This will mean that drills 
may be found in half a dozen different departments of the shop, 
punch-presses may be located on two or three different floors, 
and work-benches scattered in every different building. The 
fundamental principle that must be followed in all these cases is, 
that the material must not be carried back on its own track. A 
careful study of the conditions that the factory in question has 
to meet will give a basis for the correct solution of the problem 
of where to locate the machines. 

INSPECTION 

There is one element that is frequently neglected when the 
analysis of the conditions determining layout of the shop is 
made, namely, that of inspection. If inspection of parts be- 
tween operations is necessary, provision must be made for it. 
Care must be taken to see that it does not involve too much 
handling or moving of the material, and at the same time that 
too much of the factory floor space is not occupied with inspec- 
tion space. This question of inspection is one that will be dealt 
with more fully in the following article, but it should not be 
forgotten in connection with the problem of shop layout. 

Space has permitted the discussion of only a few of the 
many phases of the shop and its methods that should be ana- 
lyzed if the work of the shop is really to be thoroughly and fun- 
damentally improved. Much surface improvement may be 
made without a complete and thorough analysis but it will be 
only surface improvement. The kind of betterment of shop 
methods, or of anything else for that matter, depends on the 
painstaking study of what is under consideration, and the ob- 
taiaing of complete and comprehensive information which 



IMPROVING SHOP METHODS BY ANALYSIS 199 

such a thorough investigation of the subject involves. As was 
stated in the first portion of this present article, analysis is the 
preparation for constructive work. The more thorough this 
preparation is made the more lasting will be the structure that 
is erected. 

The shop is in need of just the sort of careful thought as has 
been described in this article. Its methods are susceptible to 
great improvement as candid shop men will frankly admit, and 
the first step to be taken toward their improvement is that of 
analysis. 

ANALYSIS OF TECHNICAL PEOCESSES 

When once the machines and the tools have been analyzed 
and the desirability of their use and the capabilities which 
they possess are known, the next step is to study the technical 
processes which may be carried on in the shop on these machines. 
A good example for analysis in this connection is a certain metal- 
working shop. If the technical processes that are carried on 
there are carefully investigated, it may be seen that they can 
be divided along certain broad general lines into four main 
groups — machine-shop work, blacksmithing, sheet-metal work, 
and pipe-fitting. In this particular shop, these are the four 
departments which make up the producing sections of the com- 
pany, the ones which work directly on the saleable product. 
It will be noted that these departmental divisions follow the 
lines of the technical processes that are involved. The other 
departments in the shop are auxiliary and do not operate di- 
rectly on the saleable article, but aid in its manufacture by 
rendering service to some or all of the producing departments. 

The next division of the technical processes in the machine 
shop may very well follow the lines laid out by the several 
kinds of machines that are used there, and so the work of this 
department may be divided into lathe, heavy lathe, special 
lathe, drill press, planer, shaper, grinder, milling machine work, 
horizontal boring mill, vertical boring mill work, work on the 
automatic screw machines, gear cutter, turret lathe, floor and 
bench work, and tool-making. The work on each of the ma- 
chines should be further analyzed, as well as the work in the 



200 



ANALYSIS 



other producing departments. If this is done we obtain the 
following results of our analysis, which is most easily presented 
in tabular form: 



MACHINE SHOP WORK 



Lathe 

Plain turning 

Threading and mandrel work 
Chuck and face plate work 
Advanced work 

Drill 'press 

Vertical drill 

Radial drill 
Planer 

Simple work 

Complicated work 
Shaper 
Grinder 

Tool grinding 

Surface grinding 

Automobile work 
Milling machine 

Plain milling 

Universal milling 

Special milling 
Horizontal boring mill 
Heavy lathe 
Automatic screw machine 

Forming 

Boring 

Threading 



Vertical boring mill 

Single tool work 

Compound tool work 

Surfacing 

Internal work 

External work 
Gear cutter 

Bevel gears 

Spur gears 

Helical gears 

Worm gears 

Intermittent gears 

Internal gears 
Turret lathe 

Depending on the combina- 
tion of tools used 
Floor and bench work 

Bench work 

Babbitting 

Tap and die work 

Riveting and peening 
Tool making 

General tool-making 

Testing 



Fundamentals 
Steel work 
Steel welding 



BLACKSMITHING 



IMPROVING SHOP METHODS BY ANALYSIS 201 

SHEET-METAL WORK 

Forming 

Soldering 

Brazing 

Sheet-metal pattern cutting 

PIPE-FITTING 

Pipe-Fitting 

This gives a more or less complete analysis of the various 
processes that are performed in this particular shop, and with 
this information at hand, it is possible to approach the work 
of the factory with definite conceptions of what is going on 
there. 

DETAILED ANALYSIS OF OPERATIONS 

The study of the various technical processes has divided the 
work up among the various machines upon which it is performed, 
and now comes the problem of finding out exactly how it is 
done as a basis for deciding and how it should be done on these 
different machines. In other words, the analysis in detail of 
the operations that are performed on the several machines must 
be made. The first thing to do is to break up the operations 
on the machines into the divisions that may be made by the 
observer who studies the matter objectively. This will show up 
the sequence of the sub-operations as they are actually per- 
formed at that particular time and will point out which sub- 
operations are superfluous, and where losses in time exist and 
wastes of material occur. This investigation is qualitative in 
its nature and shows what exists, whether it is good, bad, or 
indifferent. Such an analysis is only partial, however, and is 
not as complete and painstaking as it ought to be. It is the 
first step toward the goal, but there is another step to take 
before the analysis of the operation is complete, and the in- 
formation is at hand that is needed to make possible improved 
methods in the shop. 

QUANTITATIVE MEASUREMENT OF OPERATIONS 

The next part of the study of the operation is the quantitative 
measurement of the various elements that our qualitative analy- 



202 ANALYSIS 

sis has brought to Kght. It is at this point that the most 
careful analysis by engineers and shop men has been done. 
The originator of scientific management began along this line 
the investigations which brought him to the front rank in both 
the scientific and managerial field of industrial effort. He 
wanted not only to know what "made the wheels go round," 
but he also insisted on knowing how fast they turned. 

In other words, he began to make time-studies. It was the 
beginning of the movement that has done more for the shop 
than any other one single thing. The accurate measurement of 
all the elements that our previous analysis has shown up is to 
be done by means of the stop-watch. At this point our analysis 
of the several operations becomes really scientific, and the data 
that is developed has extended use. The length of time that 
each sub-operation takes may be determined, and then con- 
sideration may be given to the question of whether or not it 
can be performed in less time as a matter of standard practice. 
The time lost between operations and in the performance of 
useless operations may be determined. It is equally important 
to know the amount of time that is wasted in waiting for ma- 
terial, in waiting for orders, and on account of the break-downs 
in the machines, as it is to know the amount of time that is 
wasted in performing the operation itself. In short, the first 
result from time-study should be to bring the work of the factory 
under the control of those who are directing it, to cause them 
not to rely on a driving policy to get increased productioi}, but 
enable them to lead their men to produce more. 

The limit to which this time-study should be carried varies 
with the work that is being done. It should be extended as far 
as it is economically advantageous. It is not desirable to make 
elaborate analyses of operations that are not going to be repeated 
again or which will be repeated only a few times. It is cheaper 
and hence better manufacturing practice to take a little longer 
to perform an operation of this kind than it is to spend too much 
in analyzing it beforehand. 

It is quite useless to make detailed time-studies of such an 
operation as repairing an automobile radiator in the ordinary 
automobile general repair shop. Probably no two radiators 



IMPROVING SHOP METHODS BY ANALYSIS 203 

within a considerable period of time will require the same 
repair. 

At the other extreme is the operation which is performed 
many times a day on many machines by many operators. Such 
an operation merits the closest analysis with the stop-watch 
and it may even pay to study the operation with the aid of the 
moving-picture machine. The various operations in a shoe fac- 
tory are an example of the class of operations that merit the 
closest investigation, for many of them are repeated day after 
day by large groups of employees. The extent to which time- 
studies should be carried depends on the nature of the work 
and the good judgment of the person making the studies. It 
should be remembered in considering this matter that many 
small gains or losses soon become large. Hence, the more often 
a certain operation is performed, the more worth while it is to 
analyze with the utmost care that small wastes may be avoided 
and small gains increased. 

COMMON ELEMENTS OF ALL OPERATIONS 

There are certain elements which should be considered that 
are common to all operations, both hand and machine. Among 
such elements is the manner in which the work comes to the 
production center. It is evident that an operator cannot do his 
best work at either a machine or work place if the work is not 
in such shape that he can commence his task without any pre- 
liminary action. Analysis of the operation should be made 
with this idea especially in mind, for much of the improvement 
in shop methods can be traced to the satisfactory solution of 
this problem. Control of the orders and material in the shop 
is directly dependent on the analysis of the operations that no 
delay may occur which is due to the failure of some operation 
to be done in the time allowed it. 

THE MACHINE' — THE CONTROLLING FACTOR EST MACHINE 
OPERATIONS 

When the analysis of the work that is to be done on machines 
is considered, it is found that it must be approached from a 
somewhat different angle from hand operations. The control- 



204 ANALYSIS 

ling factor in the case of machine operations is the machine. 
Hence the capabilities of the machine should be analyzed first 
before the methods used by the operator are considered. Of 
course, all machines have certain limitations of speed and out- 
put that cannot be exceeded, but a careful study of their func- 
tioning will often show great chances for improvement. The 
modern high-speed steel was the direct result of time-studies on 
certain machine tool operations. It is the machine which must 
be studied first, and a solution for the problem which it involves, 
worked out. The manufacturer of certain electrical equipment 
found that by modifying the construction of the machines on 
which his coils were wound, he could increase the speed, and 
hence the productiveness of those machines, about 40 per cent. 

THE HUMAN FACTOR IN HAND OPERATIONS 

Hand operations are in need of another sort of analysis. In 
studying these the human factor is of vital importance. The 
element of fatigue assumes importance, and the study of the 
problem should take this element into consideration at once. 
The several different ways in which the material may be manipu- 
lated must be ascertained by analysis in order that the way 
which involves the least fatigue may be found. Closely con- 
nected with this part of the problem is the determining of the 
proper amount of rest time and when that rest time should come. 
Manual dexterity is a very important consideration in studying 
hand operations, and the analysis of such operations should 
show how much of the speed which is attained is dependent on 
the personal qualifications of the operator. 

THE PLACE OF INSPECTION 

The place and manner in which the inspection of the product 
is made must be decided upon in connection with the considera- 
tion of the operation itself, for the sequence of operations and 
the place of the various inspections in that sequence depends 
in some cases on the nature of the operation. In certain in- 
stances the work of one operation may be inspected as a part 
of the work of the next operation. In boiler work, the riveting 



IMPROVING SHOP METHODS BY ANALYSIS 205 

may be inspected by the caulkers, whose work follows that 
of riveting, and so do away with the necessity of inspection by 
inspectors after the riveting operation. Sometimes analysis 
will show that inspection of a certain operation is not needed 
because of the inspection which must necessarily be carried out 
after some subsequent operation. 

The analysis of the operations will show what opportunity 
there is for progressive assembly c^f parts, the subdividing of 
certain operations and their recombination in such a way as 
to facilitate their accomplishment. 

It was careful analysis of the operation of assembly that en- 
abled Ford to do away with the stall type of assembly and sub- 
stitute for it the much more efficient chain assembly, a method 
which has been adopted by many other automobile manufac- 
turers. 

ANALYSIS OF WORK TO SHOW TYPE OF EMPLOYEE NEEDED 

The work at each production center should be analyzed to 
discover what type of employee is best fitted to do the work. 
If the work is largely repetitive, if it does not require much 
strength or technical skill, but does require deftness of touch 
and delicacy of manipulation, the chances are that women 
can be used to advantage. If, on the other hand, the work 
requires strength and skill and involves a long, continuous 
strain, then probably the use of men will be required. Analysis 
of the operation will show what kind of employees the 
company needs in the several departments of the shop. The 
right selection of the workers is of vital importance, for the 
success of the work is based on it. Such a selection depends, 
in the first place, on a knowledge of the tasks which they 
must perform. 

The factory may be equipped with the best machines, ade- 
quately designed for the purpose expected of them; the methods 
of control of orders, material, and machines may be well de- 
signed; but if the workers on the machines are not adapted to 
the work that they are expected to perform, it is evident that 
the most satisfactory results will not be produced. 

The work should be analyzed to show what kinds of em- 



206 ANALYSIS 

ployees are best adapted to each operation, machine, or process, 
and the several kinds should be listed in the order of their de- 
sirability. This arrangement will permit the choosing of the 
right type of workers by the employment department, and it 
will point out to the foreman whether or not he has the right 
sort of worker to perform the tasks that he is expected to control. 
The present tendency to employ women wherever possible 
should be carefully considered. No prejudice against their 
employment because they have never before done that kind 
of work should be allowed to interfere with their use. On 
the other hand, the fact that it is possible to use them 
and that they are available does not necessarily mean that 
they will be most efficient in that particular place. A decision 
should be based on the knowledge of facts that analysis 
reveals. 

Analysis of the employees is a corollary of this, but since such 
analysis is properly the function of the employment depart- 
ment, only the results of such analysis will be discussed here. 
When the capabilities of the workers are known they can be 
put on tasks for which they are adequately fitted by natural 
ability and training. Small electrical apparatus requires 
for its manufacture delicacy of touch and patience more 
than strength or technical training. A certain business found 
this out by analysis of the several operations and substituted 
girls of the slender, nervous type for the boys they had 
previously employed, with greatly increased production as 
the result. 

If such cannot be done ideally, at least they may be put on 
work which they can do and be kept away from jobs for which 
they are obviously unfitted. The result will be increased out- 
put, increased ease of control due to the performance of each 
task within the time limits set, and much greater satisfaction 
on the part of the employees; for they will be earning their 
bonuses and will not feel that the work which they are expected 
to do is beyond their strength and ability. At the present time, 
really contented employees are a rarity and any means that can 
be judiciously developed to keep them satisfied should not be 
neglected. 



IMPROVING SHOP METHODS BY ANALYSIS 207 

FATIGUE FACTORS 

The various factors that produce the fatigue which workers 
suffer should also be analyzed. Very frequently, the changes 
based on such an analysis show remarkable results, for not only 
is the worker made more comfortable, but for that very reason 
is more contented, and with the decrease in fatigue, the capacity 
for productive work is increased. It is simply one of the many 
instances where the selfish and unselfish sides of the manager's 
nature may be satisfied at the same time. A prominent indus- 
trial engineer has made important studies along these lines, and 
the collection of furniture and aids to comfort on the job that 
have been made by employees for themselves is very interesting 
and instructive. It points out the way in which the manager 
may often at small expense greatly increase the comfort of his 
employees, for frequently a very simple analysis of this factor 
of fatigue will provide ample information for action along this 
line. 

Before any shop can operate, it must be organized. Most 
men think of an organization in terms of personalities, and say 
that because a man is foreman of a department he is therefore 
the director of that department. The correct way to think 
of an organization is in terms of functions. If this is done, the 
concept becomes more like this: because a man is directing a 
certain department, he is therefore the foreman of that depart- 
ment. In other words, the shop should be organized by func- 
tions and not by personalities. When the various functions 
are accurately defined, then is the time to pick the persons who 
are to direct those functions. 

If the personalities of the sort that it is felt are needed are 
not at hand, the best solution of the problem is to train them 
up from among those already in the company. If the person 
chosen for a certain position is not sufficiently well trained to 
be capable of filling it, the efifort should be made to prepare him 
for his duties. If the position is not large enough to occupy the 
capabilities of the man chosen, he can be given two or more 
functions to direct. This means that his ability to serve the 
company is not limited by the size of the function that has been 



208 ANALYSIS 

assigned to him. In short, the functions should be defined and 
then the men selected to fill them. 

THE DEFINITION OF FUNCTIONS 

The first step in defining what the various functions in the 
shop are is to find out what the different elements are that go 
to make them up, and this can only be done by analyzing the 
work of the shop. In the average shop the foreman is usually 
the whole of the directing force. He lays out the work, sees 
that it is being done approximately as it should be done, teaches 
the new workers, gives advice and help to those who seek his 
aid, and perhaps to some others who do not; superintends ma- 
chine repairs, "bawls the men out" when they infringe any of 
the written or unwritten rules of the shop, and in general takes 
all the care and responsibility on his own shoulders. A glance 
at a typical machine shop, for example, will show that those 
duties of the foreman can be sub-divided into several principal 
groups, which we can call functions. These functions might be 
divided according to their composition among several men. 
Dr. Taylor made certain groups of functions that he distributed 
to several foremen, all in the same department, whom he called 
functional foremen. The gang boss was the man who laid out 
the work and who saw to it that it came to the production center 
and the workmen in the way that it should. In doing this he 
simply followed the order of the work laid out by the planning 
department. The speed boss decided on the speeds and feeds 
and the quality of work while the machines were in his charge. 
The repair boss was responsible for keeping the machines in 
perfect repair at all times. The disciplinarian saw to it that 
discipline was maintained at all times. In addition, very fre- 
quently an instructor was added to teach the new employees 
in the places where a regular instruction department was not 
maintained. 

It is not at all necessary that an effort be made to follow the 
outlines of the mechanism that has been described above, and 
it is obvious that in some other kind of a shop than a machine 
shop such a classification might need some modification. It 
is necessary to recognize, however, the fact that the work of 



IMPROVING SHOP METHODS BY ANALYSIS 209 

directing a shop should be analyzed and broken up into its com- 
ponent parts, as a basis for the task of synthesizing those parts 
into a complete and satisfactory organization. 

DEPARTMENTAL ORGANIZATION 

The organization of a department is just as is the organiza- 
tion of a business, a skeleton, a frame-work for the carrying on 
of the direction of the work. It is the means through which 
the control of the department is maintained. It is the way 
through which the will of the managers of the business is made 
effective. It should be constructed so as to fill the needs of the 
department, and this necessitates knowing what the needs of the 
department are in the terms of functions. This leads to careful 
study as the basis for the successful building of an organization 
to fill the requirements. 

An organization should be put together so that not only will 
it function and supply the needs of its department, but also so 
that it will function smoothly, accomplishing what it has to do 
with facility and making possible complete harmony between 
the personalities that fill the several positions. 

THE QUANTITY OF ARTICLE TO BE PRODUCED 

It is essential that the quantity of the article which is to be 
made at one time be known before the type of control in the 
shop can be determined. If the production is continuous with- 
out any breaks, the methods of control which should be em- 
ployed will be radically different from those which will be used 
if the article is to be made once and then perhaps never be 
produced again. It is perfectly evident that the type of control 
that is needed for the direction of production of flour in a flour 
mill is as radically different from the type of control needed in a 
shipbuilding plant as is the difference in machinery used in those 
two plants. In the first case we have a product which is being 
turned out in the same form and almost of the same grade day 
after day, while in the second case, the common practice has 
been, down to the time of "fabricated" ships, to build each ship 
differently from any other. An automobile factory of the 
"Ford" type is a very different proposition from one of the 



210 ANALYSIS 

"Rolls-Royce" variety. In the former, uniformity of product 
is the keynote of manufacturing, while in the other, individ- 
uality is the outstanding feature. Quantity production is the 
secret of success of the first one, but elegance and beauty are the 
selling points of the second. 

The method of control inside the shop depends on the quan- 
tity of the product which is put through at one time as well as 
on the total quantity that is made in the course of the year. 
Analysis is the means of ascertaining the facts in regard to these 
essentials. 

Especially in the interrupted and intermittent types of manu- 
facture it is often found to be desirable to divide the orders 
which go through the shop into lots or batches. A manufac- 
turer of electrical fuses had great difficulty in keeping the vari- 
ous a,mperages separated, for in many cases the only difference 
between several amperages was the size of the f usable element. 
Dividing the orders into batches the contents of which were 
kept together solved this problem for him. In the continuous 
type of industry this is not needed, for the work is continuous, 
and in the engineering or jobbing types it is not necessary, for 
the whole order can usually be operated on at one time. Care- 
ful study of this problem will show the limitations that the 
quantity to be produced at one time places on the control of 
the work by such a means, as well as the desirability of employ- 
ing such a method. 

QUANTITY CONTROL 

This brings up the point of the ways and means for controlling 
the material as it moves through the shop. In the case of a 
continuous product industry, such control consists largely in 
the measure of the quantity of the product that passes by a 
certain point over a certain period of time. In the engineering 
type of industry, it is a complicated mechanism that will enable 
the management to know where each order is at all times and 
to tell the condition of the shop at a glance. In an automobile 
factory where chain production is employed, the control of the 
assembly work is regulated by the speed at which time the chain 
is moved. In a repair shop, the control is based on careful esti- 



IMPROVING SHOP METHODS BY ANALYSIS 211 

mates of time. The arrangement of the machines in the shop 
and the place of the inspections in the course of manufacture all 
have their effect on the methods of production control to be 
used. 

THE SHOP IS A FOCUS 

The whole matter is complicated by the fact that in the shop 
we have the focus of four factors that unite at that place to 
accomplish the production of the article in question. The or- 
ders to do the work, the material that is used in the operation, 
the machines on which the work is done, and the men who 
actually perform the operations are all parts of the means that 
bring the finished product to completion. Each has to be con- 
trolled, and each in turn is by itself the focus for a part of the 
system of production control of the whole business. In the 
shop, at the machine, is the place where they all meet. The 
work of the shop needs to be most carefully analyzed to interest 
fully the elements that go to make up this problem, and so pro- 
vide a satisfactory way for the solution of the problem. 

QUALITY CONTROL 

A very important part of the work which is performed in the 
shop is the inspection of the product, both while in the course 
of manufacture and after completion. This is done by the 
men who are producing the goods at the machines and by the 
special corps of men who are called inspectors. One of the 
problems which confronted our manufacturers at the com- 
mencement of the war was the matter of tolerances. They had 
not been accustomed to the producing of goods to such exact 
limits on such a large scale. The success of the making of such 
large quantities of any product to such nice limits is all bound 
up in the successful making of gages and special measuring tools 
for the measuring of dimensions. Before gages and special 
measuring tools can be manufactured, it is necessary to analyze 
the work which is expected of them. This means a careful and 
painstaking study of what tolerances and limits are needed. 
It is not economically wise to employ more accurate dimensions 
than are actually necessary. In some cases it is positively 



212 ANALYSIS 

unwise to do so. The case of farm machinery is an example. 
It is frequently left out in the open and becomes rusted. If the 
dimensions are too close, such exposure sometimes means that 
its value is partially or wholly destroyed, but if the machining 
of the parts is not carried to too nice a limit it may still be usable 
in spite of the damage from exposure, and in almost every case, 
the damage is repairable. In any case, the analysis of the mat- 
ter of limits and of the necessary quality of the product which 
must be attained will provide the necessary data on which to 
adequately solve the problem which this subject presents. 

IN CONCLUSION 

The application of the principle of analysis has been made 
to some of the problems of the shop. It should be borne in 
mind that analysis is not a means of correcting evils; it is not 
a panacea for the ills to which the shop is subject, it is not a 
solution for the problems which confront the manager or fore- 
man. It is the basis for attacking the evils by revealing what 
they are and pointing out the way of approach; it is the diag- 
nosis of the indisposition that threatens the health of the shop; 
it furnishes the material for the solution of the problem. Syn- 
thesis must follow analysis if the results sought are attained. 
Analysis provides the material and lays the foundation for the 
edifice of a successful business. Synthesis is the use of the 
material that analysis provides : it is the building of the structure 
on the foundation that the analysis has laid. Work, which 
is not based on accurate and detailed knowledge of the prob- 
lem and the means for its attack, is inevitably bound to be 
unsatisfactory and incomplete, if it does not fail altogether. 
"Well begun is half done," says the old proverb which may be 
paraphrased most effectively into, "a task thoroughly analyzed 
is half accomplished." 



PLANNING AND COORDINATING 

Planning Department Systems 

The Shop Order System 

Coordinating Tool Department Operations 

Coordinating Inspection with Production 

Preventing Man and Machine Idleness 



PLANNING DEPARTMENT SYSTEMS 

BY JOHN H. VAN DE VENTER 

A' STRAIGHT line is the shortest distance between two 
points." Every high-school boy learns to repeat this 
axiom. If more of them learned to think it, we would 
have a greater supply of executive ability. For in these short 
ten words, embodied in every geometry book, is concealed the 
big secret of success that most of us spend all our lives trying 
to find. 

Thinking in straight lines is the secret of thinking success- 
fully. After the plan is made the execution is easy. So in 
planning department systems or in passing judgment upon 
systems that others have planned, the first and big step is to 
apply to every move that we make the philosophy that is em- 
bodied in this oft-repeated and oft-forgotten axiom. 

Let me call attention first to the fact that this axiom pre- 
supposes two points : Before you can draw your straight line, 
you must know definitely and accurately where these two points 
are. You must know your starting point and the objective that 
you wish to reach. Many people attempt to draw their paths 
of progress without knowing definitely from where they start 
or to where they want to go. That is why so many personal 
and business progress lines are zigzags, spirals, and labyrinths 
that do not get anywhere. 

To bring this thought home to designing systems let me tell 
a story. Keep in mind while reading it that system is the means 
of handling routine automatically. Neither system nor routine 
itself are anything more than means to an end. The end is the 
big thing: it is the objective that we are planning to reach. 

But to come back to the story : 

In a certain manufacturing plant, oil was used in large quan- 
tities for various purposes, including certain processes necessary 
to production. This oil was stored in a large cylindrical stand- 



216 PLANNING AND COORDINATING 

pipe tank in the yard and was piped to certain points for distri- 
bution. The daily oil consumption was obtained by adding 
various meter readings to which were also added the sum total 
of miscellaneous unmetered deliveries obtained on requisition 
through the stores department. A perpetual inventory card 
indicated the amount of oil taken out each day, the amount of 
new oil put in, and the number of gallons remaining on hand. 
When this figure reached a certain minimum it was the duty 
of the stores clerk to make out a requisition for a fresh tank 
car of oil. 

Things went smoothly for a month or more after the tank 
and checking system had been installed; but a day finally came 
when the oil ceased to flow. The tank was dry. Railway 
deliveries were slow, oil could not be quickly obtained, and it was 
necessary to shut down the plant. The general manager, faced 
with a serious loss of production, made an investigation. The 
inventory card revealed no errors and indicated a balance on 
hand well above the minimum. But the empty tank was more 
eloquent than the inventory card and its fact was indisputable. 
A physical inspection revealed a leak that led to a sewer. 

This general manager was a "straight-line" thinker. "The 
main object of this system is to keep enough oil in that tank," 
said he, "and your system doesn't include the leaks. We must 
have one that does." 

So a float was put in the tank and a pointer, operated by rope 
and puUey, so placed that it was visible from the purchasing 
agent's window. "When that pointer gets to the 5,000 gallon 
mark," said the G. M. to the P. A., "you order another car and 
see that it gets here. We'll use the tickets and meter readings 
to check operating costs, but we'll use this system plus a careful 
inspection of the tank every week, to keep us from getting shut 
down." 

So a system which had formerly operated in zigzag paths, 
from tank to meter readings, from meter readings to inventory 
card, from inventory card to stockkeeper, and from stockkeeper 
to purchasing agent, became a straight line from tank to pur- 
chasing agent, in so far as it related to the big objective of keep- 
ing the plant running. 



PLANNING DEPARTMENT SYSTEMS 217 

In designing or passing judgment upon a system or any part 
of it — in other words, in designing or approving of automatic 
means for taking care of routine — the big thing at every step is 
to keep the main objective in mind and devise the shortest, 
simplest, and most effective means to attain it, whether the ob- 
jective be to keep an oil tank full, to train a new operator, or to 
get orders out on time. 

The man who thinks things out on paper has a big advantage 
over the man who carries out the process entirely within his 
head. Business and industrial routine is at the best a compli- 
cated matter and involves a confusing number of conditions, 
relationships, and contingencies. To attempt to study or pre- 
sent such relationships other than in graphic form is as diffi- 
cult as to attempt to visualize the topographical details of a 
county or township without a map. A part of the self -training 
of every executive should consist in mapping routing with paper 
and pencil. It becomes easy after one or two attempts and the 
habit will enable one to analyze, simplify, and select methods 
with a certainty and quickness impossible any other way. Map 
out on paper the routine of the department in which you are 
most interested, and see how many curved, zigzag, and unneces- 
sary lines can be omitted. 

As an example of this method of straight-line thinking. 
Fig. 1 represents the routine of handling production orders in 
the foundry department of a machinery manufacturing con- 
cern. The objective in this case is the complete control of pro- 
duction with the fewest possible forms, handlings, records, and 
files. It will be noted that two copies of a single form are 
sufficient to provide complete control of the work from the pro- 
duction office through the foundry office, pattern storage, and 
cleaning room. Each step in the routine is clearly shown and 
one can follow on the "map" every activity connected with 
this routine. Unnecessary activities stand out "like a sore 
finger" when thus depicted and it is easy to secure at every 
stage the shortest distance between the start and finish of each 
step. 

This graphical method of planning routine is not confined 
to production orders. It is applicable to every sort of routine. 



218 



PLANNING AND COORDINATING 



to all sorts of industries or business, and to any number of in- 
dividuals or departments. The chart. Fig. 2, for example, 
shows clearly every step concerned in the routine of purchasing. 




Fig. 1. Planning the Production Obdeb Routine for a Foundry 

a and b — 2 copies of foundry production order, sent to foundry office. 

As per lines a, and b. 
P' — Foundry clerk files copy (a) in tickler according to date required. 

Q' — Foundry clerk files copy (b) numerically in order number file. 
p2 — ^When date required arrives, foundry clerk transfers copy (a) to 

"Work in Process" file. (See travel line a'.) 
Q* — ^Then he takes copy (b) from "Order Record File" and sends it to 

Pattern Loft. (See travel line b^.) 
Q^ — ^Pattern loft attendant selects pattern and sends it to foimdry 

accompanied by copy (b). (See travel line b'.) 
Q^ — Foundry foreman assigns work to operator and gives him copy (b), 

with instructions. 
Q^ — After running off the order, operator returns copy (b) to foreman 
who sends it (see travel line b*) to foundry clerk, who files it. (See Q®.) 
P — On receipt of copy (b) for filing (see next item above) foimdry 
clerk removes copy (a) from "Work in Process" file and sends it (see 
travel line a') to Cleaning Room. 

P* — Cleaning room foreman notes weight and quantity on copy (a) and 
when castings are delivered to shop, sends copy (a) to shop production 
office, as notification of completion of order. 
Summary: Copy (a) travels four times and requires action five times. 

Copy (b) travels four times and requires action six times. 
Note: On long runs with partial deliveries, special partial delivery 
tickets will be required. These will originate with the molder and 
travel on lines (b*), (w), and (a*). 





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PLANNING AND COORDINATING 



A chart of this sort is understandable at a glance and gets its 
message to you more quickly and effectively than could be done 
with many pages of typed descriptions. 

I call such charts "travel line charts" because they show 
clearly the lines of travel between starting and stopping points 
of every step of the routine. There is another variety of graphic 




Fig. 3. Map of Change of Rate and Transfer Procedure 

chart also of great value in mapping routine. One of these is 
shown in Fig. 3 which is reproduced from Mr. C. E. Knoeppel's 
book "Graphic Production Control." 

The two types of charts can very well be used together in 
analyzing or planning systems. For example, Mr. Brinton in 



PLANNING DEPARTMENT SYSTEMS 221 

his "Graphical Presentation of Facts" reproduces the chart 
shown in Fig. 4 which compares the method of handhng recruit- 
ing mail in the Adjutant General's Office with the methods 



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39 DESPATCHED. 


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Fig. 4. This Type of Chaet Is Supplemented by the "Travel 
Line" Chart 



222 



PLANNING AND COORDINATING 



proposed for doing this by the Taft Commission of Efficiency 
and Economy. Travel line charts, such as shown in Figs. 5 
and 6, make this comparison of methods stand out clearly. 
Assuming that the same objective is attained in both Fig. 5 
and Fig. 6, it would not be difficult for even a layman to make 
his choice of procedure. 

In planning department systems, whether it be done graphic- 
ally or otherwise, there are requirements to keep in mind, in 



G 




K ^RBonurriNS J 



Fig. 5. Compaee This System of Handling Mail with That 
Proposed in Fig. 6 

addition to the main objective to be accomplished. A depart- 
ment system is an integral part of the whole — a sort of sub- 
assembly in the machinery of routine. It must be designed with 
respect to the whole, just as the various members of a bridge 
are designed not alone to best serve their individual functions, 
but also with respect to every other member and the 
whole. Graphical planning makes this a simple i 

matter; for the routine of the whole plant, or of any 
department or of any individual may be mapped at 
will in as much or as little detail as desired, like 
various magnifications of a microscopic slide. 

It is quite as important to know when to discard 
systems as when to install them. System as a whole 
is composed of a mosaic of many little systems, each 
having a certain specialized objective. Conditions in CT 

business and industry continually change; this brings Fig. 6 



ASS/STAItr 
CHIIF 



mcHMse 

ENLISTCO 

nnsoHNCL 



PLANNING DEPARTMENT SYSTEMS 223 

the need for new objectives and new routine to attain them. 
As a corollary comes the need of abandoning old objectives 
and routine. Some executives add systems but fail to subtract 
so that routine grows into complex and harmful red tape. Like 
a healthy fruit tree, a system must keep putting out new 
shoots and must also be regularly pruned. Thus the necessity 
of being able to map and analyze routine. 

Another consideration of importance is the investment re- 
quired to attain the objective. The greater part of such an 
investment is seldom money. It requires a goodly proportion 
of the available sum-total of executive initiative and energy 
to get a new routine machine in motion. In such cases the 
importance of the new system's objective must be balanced 
against the importance of the other objectives requiring execu- 
tive effort. This is a reason, in addition to that of securing 
specialized expert knowledge, that often impels busy managers 
to seek outside assistance in devising and installing newmethods. 
It does not, however, relieve the executive from the necessity 
of being able to discuss such proposals intelligently nor of the 
duty of analyzing his present methods and pronouncing them 
good, bad, or indifferent. 

An analysis of routine is necessary in mapping either existing 
or proposed systems. This is often developed jointly with 
making the map. A "missing link" becomes apparent on the 
chart and leads to investigation that reveals the overlooked step. 
A completed routine map means also a completed analysis of 
the routine — something well worth while indeed in all organiza- 
tions. An example of routine analysis appears under Fig. 1. 

No executive, large or small, and no man who aspires to be- 
come one, can fail to benefit by a self -conducted course in plan- 
ning and analyzing department systems. No executive or 
future executive can fail to benefit by cultivating " straight-line 
thinking" and the habit of thinking on paper. Begin with 
some simple routine that is already in operation; map it, study 
it, improve it if possible, first clearly defining the main objective 
that the routine is to accomplish. The inevitable result of 
such study will be a large increase in planning ability, smoother 
routine, less zigzags, and more straight lines. 



THE SHOP ORDER SYSTEM 

BY L. V. ESTES 

IN ANY plans for managing for maximum production, the 
activities of the production division are governed by the 
orders that are sent this division from the order department 
of the sales division. The form in which this information is 
furnished is dependent upon the particular type of industry and 
the character of product turned out. 

If we are manufacturing automobiles or motor trucks a 
schedule of output of the several types, sizes, etc., is made up 
in advance, and this schedule forms the basis upon which the 
materials are purchased and the manufacturing schedules ar- 
ranged. This plan can be applied successfully to all industries 
making a standard line of product, which product may be 
modified only slightly to meet special needs. 

Where the product is special or the work in the nature of a 
"jobbing shop" and in such types of industries as plants pro- 
ducing sheet-metal parts to customers' orders, the printing and 
lithographing industries, etc., definite information as to each 
job taken must be furnished the production division, in order 
that special attention may be given the work from the receipt 
of the order to its completion and shipment. 

Between these two general types of industries there is a wide 
variation in the requirements as to information that must be 
furnished the production division in order that the latter may 
proceed with the economical and efficient execution of the work. 
For the purpose of this article, however, we will take the motor 
truck and sheet-metal products plants as examples of the ex- 
tremes in the method of handling the orders. 

If the plant is engaged in the manufacture of a standard line 
of product, the engineering department has already designed 
the product and has the necessary detail drawings and specifica- 
tions for each of the component parts. The sales division, with 

224 



THE SHOP ORDER SYSTEM 225 

the assistance of the executives of the company and the head 
of the production division, determine how many and the rate 
of production of each type or size and a schedule is then prepared 
covering these requirements. 

The sales division will then issue Authorization Orders cover- 
ing these requirements, of which four copies will be required, 
each copy bearing the same number and signed by the head of 
the sales division and approved by the general manager before 
becoming effective. These copies are distributed as follows; 

1st copy, Sales Division file 

2nd copy. Engineering Department file 

3rd copy. Production Division 

4th copy, Accounting Division 

The form in which these Authorization Orders are issued is 
shown in Fig. 1. It will be noted that the specification folio 
number is given, as well as the drawing numbers, from which 
the production division can requisition the necessary informa- 
tion to start their work in the purchasing, planning, and factory 
departments. 

Where the orders received require more or less special design- 
ing and engineering work, the form shown in Fig. 2 has been 
found best suited for transmitting the order from the order 
department of the sales division to the production and engineer- 
ing departments. 

Such orders are frequently preceded by inquiries asking for 
an estimate. These inquiries are first passed to the credit de- 
partment for credit O. K., after which they are returned to the 
sales division which brings together all information obtainable 
and sends it to the estimate section of the engineering depart- 
ment. This section, cooperating with the planning department, 
will estimate a date for delivery and the cost of the job, consid- 
ering all other work on hand and work for which estimates have 
been made and the amount of work required to complete the 
order and will return all papers to the sales division. The 
scheduled time for doing this work must in all cases be shown 
on the control board against the machines affected. 

When estimates result in orders, the sales division first sends 
these orders to the credit department, from whence they are 



226 



PLANNING AND COORDINATING 



5E35— 

=0 
h=0 


Production Dirieion 




HJE SIM MOTOR ranCK CO., 
ChicBgo, 111, 

Dat» _ 


Authorization 
Order 






Uuiufacturs Cmpletg tmd SsliTsr to Plnlihed Storui | 




Quant. 


IVP. 


DaBcrlptlon 


S09 


H 


3 Ton Uotor Trucks 

8p«etfic»Uon Bo. T-B9. 

Drrnlng Pile No. 392. 

DollTorieaf SO «aoh month boglnalsg on 
Marob 31 »t. 




Siowd , 

Solas lianifar 
ApproTOd .._. , 
Goaoral IJamgar 



Fig. 1. Authorization Order Form 



sent to the order department of the sales division for issue on 
the form shown in Fig. 2 as was explained in a preceding para- 
graph. 

One method of numbering customers' orders, which has been 



i-T.t isi 




PBODCCTIOM DEPARTMENT. > 

The Jones Manufacturing Company 
Power &. Mining Machinery 
Chica^o^ Illinoi&,U5.A. 

Huh 

tVomUed 


tnterla. 


^ J Cnai'a Order 
^-^ Sold to 
Ship (o 
ShloVla 


1 1 


nmiio. 


1 1 


IH.^»«ll 


1 1 


' Egg.Eltail. 


1 1 


IdlEAiK ' 


Termtt 




1 1 


o 


««k 


DCtomioii 


■ Shot 
OrdH- . 


MuhhM 










PUIiw'J^iOM - 


•IL 


». X HUB uiNo^jta- '•o" 


cnscr .■»>. 


Br."^. ^ "^ 















Fig. 2. Specialized Oedee Form 



THE SHOP ORDER SYSTEM 227 

found to facilitate following-up, is to assign to each new cus- 
tomer a number, these numbers being consecutive. This num- 
ber is followed by a dash and an additional number beginning 
with 1 for each separate order received from the same customer. 
The Jones Manufacturing Company, for example, send in their 
first order which is assigned number 1420. As this is their first 
order the number given to it by the order department is 
1420-1. Later succeeding orders are received from this same 
customer and the number 1420 is always assigned to it, followed 
by the number which denotes the quantity of orders which 
have been received from this customer. By this means it has 
been found possible to locate quickly any order, as well as to 
facilitate all reference to any specific customer's work and to pro- 
vide for developing a proper share of each customer's business. 

When orders are received by the production division, the first 
step is to secure from the engineering department the necessary 
drawings and bills of material covering the product to be pro- 
duced. Duplicate copies of all drawings must be furnished, 
one copy to be retained by the planning department for their 
files and the second copy to be issued with the Work Orders to 
the factory. 

As the planning department originates no orders itself and as 
it requires to know what and how much of each product is to be 
produced, as well as the kind of product, before it can begin its 
work, it is essential that this information in the form of au- 
thorization orders, drawings, bills of material, etc., be furnished 
at the earliest date possible so that the work may be started in 
accordance with the schedule laid out. 

The planning department, responsible to the head of the 
production division, wUl have full control of all manufacturing 
activity. It will be solely responsible for the manipulation of 
material and equipment and the distribution of time and will 
execute the functions of planning, routing, and scheduling of the 
work in a manner that will insure satisfactory deliveries to the 
company's customers or to the finished stockroom. 

All orders for manufacturing will pass from the order depart- 
ment of the sales division to the planning department of the 
production division, where the status of each order received is 



228 



PLANNING AND COORDINATING 



determined in relation to material on hand and to be ordered; 
to other work in process; and to delivery promises already made 
on other orders. 

The fundamental principles governing the planning depart- 
ment in relation to planning, routing, and scheduling are: 

PLANNING. (a) A knowledge of what to make, the quantities and the 

time in which to make it. 

(b) Seeing that each machine, bench, or work-place has 
a "next job" ready to start before the one in process is 
completed. 

(c) Seeing that a Work Order containing all necessary 
information for the "next job" is at hand and ready for 
the use of the worker. 

(d) A knowledge of aU stock on hand and in process, 
including both raw material and finished parts; of all 
stock receipts and disbursements, and a prompt checking 
of requirements against stock records, with maintenance 
of such stocks as will insure the material and parts being 
at hand when wanted. 

(e) Seeing that machines, belts, pulleys, etc., are kept 
in the best condition and that there is no failure on the 
part of the operator to "make good" on a job due to de- 
lays from these causes. Notifying the plant engineer by 
written order whenever repairs are necessary and antici- 
pating such repairs as far as possible. 

ROUTING. (a) Deciding upon the machine, bench, or work-place for 

each operation and recording these decisions for the use 
of the order-of-work clerk in handling this order, as well 
as recording the routing for use on duplicate orders. 

(b) Selecting other machines, benches, or work-places 
which may handle the operations in the event that break- 
downs, delays, etc., may occur at the first place selected. 

(c) Selecting the best operator for the performance of 
each of the several operations, within the limits of the 
personnel employed in the department doing the work. 

SCHEDULING, (a) Knowing what is to be made and how much of it. 

(b) Knowing, from time-study, analysis, and previous 
performance, the time required to perform each of the 
operations specified. 

(c) Knowing, through the control board, the exact 
condition of each department, and each machine with re- 
lation to work in process. 

(d) With the preceding knowledge, determining the date 



THE SHOP ORDER SYSTEM 229 

and hour any specific order will reach the various depart- 
ments, machines, benches, or work-places, from the time 
the order is started until it is delivered to the shipping 
department or to finished stores. 

(e) Following up of each order sent into the factory to 
see that the schedule as planned is being maintained and 
that movement of the work is recorded on the control 
board, and calling attention of foremen and higher execu- 
tives to failures in maintaining the schedules as planned. 

(f) Rearranging the schedules to meet unforeseen contin- 
gencies as they may arise, and promptly advising the order 
department as to the effect of such rearrangement on de- 
livery promises made. 

The Operation Analysis is a conference record as to the best 
method of doing a specijBc piece of work and incorporates the 
best knowledge and experience of all department heads as to 
a standard method of producing each part which goes to make 
up a complete order. 

The parts are taken from the specification sheets furnished 
by the engineering department in the form of bills of material; 
and the analysis of the method of manufacture, the operations 
to be performed, the tools and machines that will be required 
and the time for each operation, are entered on this Operation 
Analysis sheet, which is shown in Fig. 3. 

It has been found that by using this sheet the department 
heads concerned have an opportunity to take part in the 
preparation of the plan and advantage can be taken of the 
ideas which they suggest. Further, when they have a part in 
preparing the plan it has been found that they display a live- 
lier interest in seeing that it is carried out. 

When completed, this Operation Analysis sheet becomes the 
basis for all material and part requisitions and for Work Orders, 
both for parts to be made and for the assemblies. As these 
sheets are accumulated the necessity for repeated conferences 
on new orders will grow less and the personal equation will be 
correspondingly reduced. The first step in production control 
has now been taken. Providing the material is the next 
3tep. 

With the Operation Analysis sheet prepared it is now nee- 




230 



PLANNING AND COORDINATING 

essary to check the bill of material with the stores ledger and 
determine : 

(a) What parts may be requisitioned from stores. 

(b) What parts must be made up before the assembly operation can be 
completed. 

(c) What material available to make up the parts not in stores. 

(d) What material must be purchased before the production of required 
parts can be imdertaken. 

In any industry making a standard product it has been found 
of decided advantage to have all parts which can be requisi- 
tioned ordered out of the storeroom on one requisition. In 
Fig. 4 is shown a form which has been designed and successfully 
used for this purpose. The advantage in handling and insuring 
that all parts have been ordered; that they will be delivered 
where needed; and the ease with which the pricing and ex- 
tensions can be made by the cost department, will be self- 
evident. Attention to this point has been found to effect 
material savings in the number of employees in the cost de- 
partment and to promote the accuracy of the cost work in 
marked degree. 

Where the orders received are special and where material 
has to be requisitioned to make parts, the Productive Material 
Requisition shown in Fig. 5 has been found best suited in meet- 
ing the needs of both stores and planning department, in that 
the schedule date and time when work is to be started, as well 
as department and machine number to which material is to be 
delivered, are specified. 

When the copy of this form is returned to the planning de- 
partment it is notice that the material has been delivered to 
the machine and the job is in readiness to be started. Until 
such a time this job cannot become a "next job" for the ma- 
chine, bench, or work-place. 

When it becomes necessary to purchase material for parts 
for the execution of any order, the planning department advises 
the purchasing department of this fact through the use of the 
Request for Purchase of Material form shown in Fig. 6. 

This form is made up in three copies, the first going to the 



THE SHOP ORDER SYSTEM 



233 



purchasing department, the second being retained by tlie plan- 
ning department, and the third copy being sent to the receiving 
department, which, when the material is received, notes this 





I..V.t 


PO«..<i. 


-^^l^ 


ULAR PRODUCTIVE MATERIAL 
TINUATION REQUISITION 


-• 1155 




Ireo 


ftTOCKKECPCd; FURNISH MATERIAL AS SPECIFIED. STATE AMOUNT AMD 


22386 


1 


DESCRIPTION OF MATERIAL 


OILIVIR MATIRl 




3A» X X"^ Cold Rolled Steef, 


o:Tci2-2o-i8l?rM. 


8 AM 




• BLOW ' 


Specification No. 38. 








INITIALS 


8TKB. 


' "OPN. NO. 


D£PT. NO. MACH. NO. 


CLOCK NO. 


OPERATION 




■ 








QTY. D 


BLIVEHEO 


2 


6 D-26 




Milling 








PART 
NAME 






nici 


Pinion Bolt 








AfQUIflSD »MtS LOT 


Sm^tJiTw?'^''*"'"' ' MuSM'THVtOT 




OUWT 


2200^ 











Fig 5. Form for Material for Parts on Special Order 

fact on its copy and returns it to the planning department. The 
copy retained by the planning department is held with the Work 
Orders in the order rack until material is received. 



REQUEST FOR PURCHASE OF 
MATERIAL 



DESCRIPTION OF MATERIAL DESIRED 



5__. 



UV&o 



DATE WANTED 



IMPORTANT 

ISSUE SEPARATE REOUISITICK* 
FOR EACH PART OR KINO or 
MATERIA!. BE BRIEF Btft 

THOROUGH. 



SIGNED 



TOH EACH PART an KTna or 

ERIAL. BE BRIEF BIT) 



tSeUE SEPARATE REOUISITKM 
FOR EACH PART OR KIND OB 
MATERIAL. BE BRIEF BtH 

THOROUGH. 



DATE ^. 
SKMED. 



Fig. 6. Three-Part Purchase Order Form 



234 



PLANNING AND COORDINATING 



The next step to be taken by the planning department in 
getting the work ready for starting is the making out of Dispatch 
Orders and the initial Time Cards for each operation on the 
parts to be produced, giving such information as will readily 



1155 



-**- COHTIMOAtlON 
REOPERATION 



DISPATCH ORDER 
MEMORANDUM 



OELIVERIES 



pgrecfivEt 



DATE I 9UANTITY 



OPN NO. CEPT.N» MACH. No. J CLOCK Ho. OPERATION 



D-26 



OROER NO 

22366 



est.bet-uptWk 
3.5 hrs. 



Milling 



U>TN9. 

1 



ACTUAL om TIME 



QET^UPTWRePF 
% 



Pinion Bolt 



1200 



opHTtneefF 



TOTAL EFT O-01 



RE-OPSRATION ^ ''"^ CARD 


par't'no. 
1155 




ORD NO 

22336 


LOTNa 
1 


TO START 

12-20- '18 


BURDEN NO. 


EST OPR. TJI«E 

3.5 hrs 


BURDEN RATE 


EST.SeT-UPTlHE 


BURDEN AMT. 


O^NNO. 


DEPT. NO. 


MACH NO. 


CLOCK NO 


OPERATION 


2 


6 


n.2g 




Milling 


HOURS 


PART 

"*"' Pinion Bolt 


BATS 


AMOUNT 


PIECES 1 PIECES MADE TO-OAV 




PAL TO BCOPERATED 




AtiUW 


1 




, 









Fig. 7. Combination Woek Oedeb and Time Card 

identify the part number, operation number, the department to 
do the work, the machine to be used, and the time the job is to 
start, with the standard time allowed for both set-up and 
operation. 

It has been found desirable to design this Work Order and 
Time Card so that both may be made out at one writing and in 
Fig. 7 is shown the form for this purpose. When made out for 
each part these forms are filed in the "To Do" order file, to- 
gether with the copies of any Purchase Requisitions which may 




Fig. 8. View of Dispatch Boakd in Planning Department 




Fig. 9. A Special Form of Dispatch Boaed 



THE SHOP ORDER SYSTEM 235 

have been issued, where they are held until notice is received 
that materials or parts have come to hand, when they become 
available as "jobs ahead" for the machines to which they have 
been assigned. 

It is the function of the planning department actually to con- 
trol all orders and their condition at all times and to be able to 
furnish promptly to the order department of the sales division 
information as to the progress of every order which has been 
put into process, as well as the condition of orders which are 
held waiting for material. 

To handle this function successfully and to meet requests for 
definite information promptly, it is necessary that the planning 
department be provided with facilities that will insure that this 
function will be carried out without delay. 

In Fig. 8 is shown the dispatch board in a planning depart- 
ment of a plant where, owing to the nature of the work, it was 
found desirable to combine the dispatching of the jobs with the 
planning department proper. With the Work Orders distrib- 
uted to the several locations, the operator comes to the window 
and announcing his machine number, is given the next job which 
has been assigned to this machine. 

The dispatch clerk takes care of recording the in and out 
time on each job and the board shows at all times the amount 
of work which is ahead of each machine, bench, or work-place, 
thus pointing out where the planning department must give 
attention to keep the several machines in operation. 

In Fig. 9 is shown an arrangement somewhat different, but 
based upon the same principles as the foregoing in its layout. 
This arrangement was made to meet particular conditions 
which were encountered in its installation and in its operation 
has proved very satisfactory. All sections of this board are 
accessible to the dispatch clerk from his desk. 

In addition to the dispatch board there must also be provided 
a means which will control the work as to the time it shall arrive 
at certain machines, how long it will require for operation, and 
where it must be moved to for the next operation to be per- 
formed, as well as when this next operation shall start. 

In the section of the control board shown in Fig. 10 the period. 



236 PLANNING AND COORDINATING 

from March 1 to 11 is shown against machine numbers 45 to 63, 
inclusive. On this chart are shown the part numbers, manu- 
facturing order numbers, operation numbers, and the next 
machine number for the work assigned and scheduled for each 
machine. The following will illustrate the manner in which 
this control-board principle may be applied: 

Taking part No. 1012, manufacturing order No. 20318, we find that ma- 
chine No. 63 is to perform operation No. 3, starting the work of setting up at 
11 A. M. on March 5; that this set-up is to take two hours and that actual 
production starts at 2 p. M. and is to continue until 10 A. M. on March 6. 

We also note that the next operation is to be done on machine No. 65, 
which is shown on that portion of the board not included in this illustration. 

Under March 7 and against machine No. 46 we find that this order is to 
start for operation No. 5 at 11 A. M. and, after taking untU 2 P. M. for set-up, 
production is to continue until 12 M. on March 8. The extension of the 
horizontal schedule line beyond the vertical line in the latter case shows that 
the job ran one hour over the time that was scheduled for its performance. 

From machine No. 46 the work goes to machine No. 49, where operation 
No. 6 is performed, starting at 7 A. M. on March 10 and continuing until 4 
p. M. on the same date. From machine No. 49 the work moves to machine 
No. 46 for operation No. 7, after which it is returned to machine No. 49 for 
performing operation No. 8. 

Each square along the horizontal line indicates one hour and 
the starting point of each schedule line shows first the set-up 
time, followed by the time scheduled for actual production. At 
each end of the job time vertical lines are drawn and the actual 
time of starting and completion may show an extension of the 
schedule line into time spaces outside the vertical line when 
the job starts ahead of schedule or when the time taken ex- 
ceeds the time allowed. 

Where non-working time is encountered this is shown by a 
saw-tooth line, as will be noted against machine No. 52 for 
March 2 and against No. 50 for a portion of March 8 and all of 
March 9. The heavy vertical lines designate the week ending 
date, which, it will be noted, is Saturday noon. 

Attention is called to the facility with which the number of 
hours' work ahead of each machine is shown. We find that 
at the close of work on March 5 we have against machine No. 



THE SHOP ORDER SYSTEM 



237 



46 only 29 hours' work on our schedule and on machine No. 61 

for the same date there is only 24 hours' work scheduled ahead. 

For the purpose of showing what percentage of machine load 

is being utilized, against the possible machine load that is avail- 



1 




MARCH ! 




I 


2 


3 


4 


5 <b 


. 7 


8 


9 


10 


II 




45 
A<5 
A-1 
48 
AS 
50 
51 
to 52 

< m 

55 
56 
57 
58 
53 
60 
01 








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203/^11 












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43 
















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lOimm 20 
024 ms ot 


3 m 1 

IS 2031! JO 
(3 0213 


ti WB 








MIS 
Z03IS 

06fe - 


lOIZ 
20318 
0825 


























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zme ion 
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- 




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391 


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0313 




























.»- 


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-^oop 





3 65 


























—1., , _ 



Fig. 10. Machine Control Board 



able, this form of chart has been found to possess decided merit. 
Other forms for showing this information have been developed 
to meet conditions peculiar to certain types of industries and 
particular plants. In certain cases it has been found that the 



238 



PLANNING AND COORDINATING 



nuSber'of'"i^tc® ^e PRODUCTION ^fECOKD if Stmighhyaij\tlYe ?Tom March m -to Mar.3ISt 




F%.RTI« 


RkRT NAME 




1 


z 


3 


A 


5 


6 


7 


8 


9 


10 


II 


IS 


13 


M- 


E 


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Fig. 11. Dispatch Boakd fob Controlling Assembly 



use of cards will give the desired iaformation to the best advan- 
tage and with the least possibility of confusion. 

Where a number of parts are required to be assembled into a 
completed unit; where these parts or the larger part of them are 
carried in stock in the stores department; and where certain 
special operations must be performed in connection with the 
assembly operation, the form shown in Fig. 11, taken from an 
actual production record in a plant manufacturing valves, will 
give the necessary information to answer all inquiries that may 
be made by the sales division. 

Different lots are scheduled through the assembly and testing 
operations and attention must be paid to seeing that there is 
no interference of any lot of one size with lots of any other size. 
This is easUy shown by the relation of the schedule lines on the 
charts applying to the different sizes which are to be assembled. 

In a preceding paragraph we have outlined the fundamental 
factors which the planning department must take into considera- 
tion in being able to plan the work to make the best use of ma- 
chines, equipment, and men; to see that the orders which have 



THE SHOP ORDER SYSTEM 239 

been promised shall come through and be shipped on the dates 
which have been specified; and to be able to point out where 
available plant capacity is not being utilized to the fullest ex- 
tent. 

The best method for production control can only be deter- 
mined after a study has been made of the factors which enter 
into the problem and an analysis has been made of the condi- 
tions which must influence this selection. 

Above all things, the plan adopted must be as simple in its 
operation as it can be made and still accomplish the purpose for 
which it is introduced. In too many cases intricate and com- 
plicated methods have been introduced, which have failed to 
perform their functions immediately when the outside engineer, 
who introduced them, leaves the plant, and their complete dis- 
carding only becomes a question of time. 

It has been found desirable to consider the plan to be adopted, 
bearing in mind the following as some of the factors: 

1. Is the industry of the continuous process type; product 
manufactured for stock; "jobbing shop" with estimates; 
"jobbing shop" with consideration of salvage in waste 
material; or where miscellaneous product is run in com- 
bination? 

2. Into what detail must the plan be carried to insure full 
accomphshment of the control feature? 

3. In what manner and to what extent is it desirable to 
*' tie-in" the plan with other functions? 

4. What will be the simplest and most accessible presenta- 
tion of the required information? 

5. To what extent may the ideas of the personnel be used in 
developing a permanently successful plan? 

6. What plan, after installing, will be operated with least 
expense, the minimum confusion, and with permanency 
insured? 



COORDINATING TOOL DEPARTMENT OPERATION 

BY C. W. STARKER 

EVEN in the old days of the small mdividualistie shop the 
tool room was considered an important element, the 
star department, although at that time most of the 
men made their own tools and these were limited to drills, taps, 
lathe and planer tools and the like. With the increase in size 
of manufacturing organizations the plan of interchangeable 
production was introduced. This required jigs and fixtures for 
doing the work, gages for controlling accuracy and uniformity, 
milling cutters for repetitive work, and a variety of small tools 
for the new special machines which came into use. All of this 
tended to increase the importance of the tool room: from it 
radiated all the larger things; manufacturing methods, produc- 
tion schedules, wage systems, everything in the manufacturing 
departments came to depend on the small tool, insignificant 
pieces of steel worked into many different shapes to turn, bore, 
mill, or shape. 

Hand-forged parts gradually were superseded by drop f orgings ; 
stamped, pressed, or drawn-steel parts largely replaced hand- 
formed or cast parts, due to their greater economy in quantity 
production and other advantages. All of these improvements 
meant tools for manufacturing, and dies, often of a com- 
plicated nature, were required. While the new methods per- 
mitted the use of less skilled, cheaper labor in actual production 
as, for instance, in feeding a punch press compared with hand- 
forming operations, the demand upon the skill of the tool de- 
signer and the mechanic in the tool department multiplied. 
As indicative of this trend there might further be cited the in- 
creasing use of die castings and parts press-molded from insu- 
lating compositions, all requiring more or less complex steel 
molds. So the "tool room," as we are stUl in the habit of calling 
it, grew into a tool manufacturing department, employing in 

§40 



TOOL DEPARTMENT OPERATION 241 

large organizations up to 1,500 or more men. The designing of 
large tools such as are required for heavy press work requires 
trained and specialized designers and in many cases involves 
as much or more engineering thought than the designing of the 
part that is to be manufactured. 

The closer study of machining operations, cutting speeds 
and feeds resulted, on the one hand, in standardized tools of 
scientifically determined shapes manufactured in a centralized 
department, instead of the tool made by the individual workman 
according to empirical theories of his own. On the other hand, 
there followed the introduction of a variety of alloy steels each 
adapted to certain definite purposes. With these came the 
scientific application of heat treatments and hardening proc- 
esses in place of the rule-of-thumb methods previously in 
vogue. The number of drawing operations and annealings 
necessary in drawn work, which determine the number of dies 
to be made for a given article, are now fixed, not exclusively by 
experience, but with the aid of microphotographs showing the 
changes in the structure of the material due to forming opera- 
tions. 

This partial outline of the scope of tool-room activities is 
given in order to show the increasing importance of that phase 
of manufacturing and to bring home the fact that improvements 
in the organization of the department have not kept step with 
the demand, so rapid have been the change and growth. All 
our products are becoming more involved and complex, not 
simpler and cruder, and so call for higher skill and training, espe- 
cially in the tool room. The manufacture of ammunition, 
rifles, and other war material has taught the lesson of how much 
manufacture depends on the tool room. The efficiency of the 
tool room is a direct measure of the efficiency of the entire manu- 
facturing organization; old-fashioned tools mean old-fashioned 
methods of production and wage systems; failure to live up to 
schedules in producing workable tools upsets production sched- 
ules and deliveries throughout the works. Advanced work, on 
the other hand, based on the latest results of the research labo- 
ratory and guided by trained mechanical engineers, secures to 
the organization an advanced position. 



242 PLANNING AND COORDINATING 

In the following paragraphs the work of a general supervisor 
of tools is outlined from the writer's own experience. It is 
evident that under the new conditions several things must be 
done. The practical knowledge of tool making handed down 
by word of mouth and accumulated in many years of experience 
by the executives of the tool department, superintendent and 
foremen, must be crystallized and made generally accessible. 
Their practical experience must be supplemented by the knowl- 
edge of the mechanical engineer, the research work of the 
metallurgist, and the expert in machine-tool operation. On the 
other hand, the engineer or draftsman, who in designing a new 
piece of apparatus must consider manufacturing requirements, 
and for whom in the past a general knowledge of pattern work 
and foundry methods was suflScient, must now have his knowl- 
edge supplemented by tool experts, if he is to design new appara- 
tus with a minimum of tool cost and for the best manufacturing 
conditions. 

The correlating of these different activities is the principal 
function of the supervisor of tool development. The tool-room 
executives, busy with matters of distribution of work on the 
floor, employment, equipment, expense control, production 
schedules, and similar matters lack the time to do justice to this 
side of the work and cannot possibly be familiar enough with the 
problems of the designing engineer to direct designs into more 
economical channels from a tooling-up standpoint. 

To understand the supervisor's function it is necessary to 
review the procedure which, with modifications in details, is 
followed by all large manufacturing organizations in authorizing 
tool development. Let us assume that a committee, composed 
of members from the sales, engineering, and works departments, 
has favorably reported to the management the desirability of 
developing certain new apparatus and that this report, giving 
in a general way an estimate of the expenses entailed, sales 
possibilities and so on, has been approved. The first step is 
then to design one or more of the various sizes of the apparatus 
proposed, build them experimentally and subject them to thor- 
ough tests. These samples should be, and usually are, built in 
a separate experimental department where they are made by 



TOOL DEPARTMENT OPERATION 24S 

hand, or with merely the most necessary hand tools by first-class 
mechanics. After the successful operation of the devices has 
been established and changes made by the engineering depart- 
ment to improve performance as well as to cheapen manufacture 
by the tool method, the final drawings are sent to the superin- 
tendent of the department which eventually is to manufacture 
the article with a request for tool estimates. 

This assembling section considers its requirements from 
the standpoint of its equipment— kinds of machine tools 
available— and then transmits to the tool department a list of 
the tools needed, including those required by the various feeder 
sections doing part of the work. Upon receipt of these requests 
the work of the supervisor of tools begins. He studies the de- 
sign and tool request in cooperation with the tool estimating 
section, the chief tool designer, and the superintendent of the 
tool department. If necessary, conferences are arranged with 
the designing engineer or sales representatives in which various 
points are discussed regarding the justification of tools, quanti- 
ties required to be manufactured, etc., and suggestions made 
for alterations in the design with a view to facilitating manu- 
facture, reducing tool cost or tool maintenance expense, etc. 

The first question that will be asked in such an analysis of tool 
problem is, "What is the activity of the apparatus and the prob- 
able life of the design?" This point at times is not fully appre- 
ciated by the engineer designing the apparatus. Tools may be 
made not only to build the article but to manufacture it in large 
quantities. They may be made practically without reference 
to first cost, merely for obtaining a minimum cost of product. 
The article may be a novelty that will sell in large quantities 
but dies out quickly, as, for example, certain parts for automo- 
biles where the style changes almost from year to year. The 
tools, therefore, should in this instance, be so constructed that 
with low tool cost large quantities for a short period can be 
manufactured. The cheaper carbon steels will find their use 
here for punches, dies and forming tools, and machine steel for 
milling cutters, with no expense mcurred which is not absolutely 
necessary. In another class come tools for articles where the 
demand may be limited but permanent, that is, an apparatus 



244 PLANNING AND COORDINATING 

or design that is reasonably certain to hold the field for a long 
period of time, so that life, possibility of repair and maintenance 
expense of the tool become prime considerations. It is appar- 
ent that in this respect considerable judgment is required, and 
the ability of deciding between diverging opinions is essential, 
for the sales representatives are by nature optimistic, and the 
works representatives are apt to be skeptical. 

It is unnecessary to show forms and blanks for tool estimates 
here, they may be made up in different ways, but one of the es- 
sential things is that the activity of the article and the probable 
life of the design be stated, and these data must be determined 
by thorough consideration on the basis of sales and engineering 
records. The expense involved in tools is so great and the 
amount squandered by careless methods so detrimental, that 
tool estimates or tool orders should always be signed by a super- 
intendent or general foreman, not by a clerk in the production 
office. 

However, there is almost as much likelihood of insufficient 
tooling-up as there is of extravagance in tool requests. Means 
should be provided to have the activity data corrected if the 
demand changes. In manufacture it happens sometimes that 
production is greatly hampered, schedules upset, and criticism 
incurred due to the fact that activity has increased beyond the 
estimate, which may have been made up conscientiously and 
conservatively, but not revised when the greater demand came. 
If the requirements increase materially, duplicate tools, or tools 
adapted for greater quantity production, should be provided; 
different types of punch presses may, for example, be used, or 
several operations performed at one time with correspondingly 
greater tool cost, or higher grade steels may be used, so that the 
tools will stand up longer before requiring regrinding and repair. 

In the case of old tools, that have become worn out, the ques- 
tion of activity should not, as often happens, be lost sight of in 
renewing the tool, but should be given equal consideration with 
new tools. It may be that a costly die or other tool was fully 
warranted in the earlier period of the life of the design, but 
that, after this tool has been worn out, the probable balance of 
the life of the design is short and only a simple tool should be 



TOOL DEPARTMENT OPERATION 245 

made, even if this involves a somewhat greater cost of produc- 
tion, rather than replacing the old tool by an exact duplicate, as 
is often done in a routine way. Renewed tools should incor- 
porate all the improvements which experience may teach, in 
the design and working of the tool, as well as in improving 
performance or cheapening production of the article itself. 
With this in view a system has been provided whereby both the 
manufacturing section and the designing engineer are consulted 
before any renewal of tools is authorized by the supervisor. 

The second question the supervisor will ask himself in analyz- 
ing a design presented for tool estimate is, "Can any of the exist- 
ing tools be used or adapted .f*" In a large manufacturing or- 
ganization enormous amounts of various tools, dies, formers, 
benders, and the like are accumulated and the records of such 
tools are frequently entirely inadequate. One or two clerks 
are usually detailed for keeping books, in which the various tools 
are listed. From their daily work they acquire, as a rule, con- 
siderable experience as to what tools are available, but these 
records should be general property, not one man's stock in trade. 
This is the case particularly because the clerk does not always 
have the knowledge or judgment to say what tool might be 
used or, putting it in another way, around what existing tools a 
new design might be worked out. Some time ago in organizing 
a department for supervising tool development in a large manu- 
facturing organization one of the first steps taken was to have 
better and more accessible tool records made up. The particu- 
lar form used is immaterial, whether on cards or in book form, 
but copies should be available not only to the tool department, 
but in the various engineering and drawing offices for reference 
in laying out the first design of new apparatus. These records 
show not only the final shape of the piece but the various 
steps in its production, as for instance draws in the case of 
drawn parts, cup shapes, etc. It is often quite possible to use 
existing tools for certain intermediate operations, adding, per- 
haps, a hand tool for a final operation to produce the desired 
shape of the design. Very surprising savings have been pro- 
duced by close attention to this point of using existing tools. 
It requires in the supervisor of tool development a designing 



246 PLANNING AND COORDINATING 

ability and a certain inventiveness or resourcefulness to see the 
designing engineers' problem and to point out the possible use 
of existing tools in each instance. Tact in making such sugges- 
tions and enough authority to carry suflScient weight to have 
the suggestions accepted are very desirable adjuncts in this 
work. 

With a few of the leading companies specializing on pressed, 
punched, or drawn metal work, it is customary to provide sample 
boards or sample rooms, where a specimen is kept of all the more 
interesting pieces made by the tools. There is usually one 
sample for each operation, where several operations are required. 
The writer has used and expanded this idea with good success. 
These sample boards are inexpensive, the parts being simply 
hung up on horizontal rods if small, or laid out upon tables if 
large. The sample can be used by the inspector as a proto- 
type and parts made from worn dies can be checked up with the 
first specimen from time to time. The sample boards stimulate 
the justifiable pride of those who produce the work. Pride in 
accomplishment, enthusiasm for the work, should always be con- 
sidered a very desirable element in a manufacturing organiza- 
tion particularly in the present days when the stimulation of 
mere quantity production by premiums and bonuses has done 
so much to lower the skill and workmanship of the mechanic. 

Third, the samples are an excellent educating medium for 
tool designers and tool makers, as well as for the designing en- 
gineer and draftsman. Frequently designers have been taken 
to these boards and in a few minutes by visual demonstration 
have been given a better idea of the action of material in dies, 
of possible depth of draws, influence of flanges or corners on 
drawn or bent parts and so on, than could have been presented 
in any other way. Then, too, the exhibition of samples that 
have given a great deal of trouble, either in the making of the 
tools or the production of the article, serve as a warning, an ob- 
ject lesson to all. These failures are perhaps more instructive 
than the good examples, for we learn more from our mistakes 
than from our successes. If these samples were not shown to 
the younger men coming up in the organization, it is more than 
likely that they would have to go through the same experience, 



TOOL DEPARTMENT OPERATION 247 

at the expense of the company, and to the detriment of the 
industry as a whole. 

However, to get at the root of the evil, if such it may be called, 
of designs that are impractical from a tool standpoint, or at 
least, not the best possible, it is necessary to go back to the 
source, that is, to the designing engineer and draftsman where 
the designs of parts originate. Designing data as definite as 
possible should be made available for his guidance in designing 
parts which require dies and other tools, in addition to consulta- 
tions with the tool department and occasional visits to the 
sample board. The tool record referred to above should con- 
tain not only forming or piercing dies, benders and the like, 
but should include milling cutters, drill jigs, building fixtures, 
and so on, for frequently the design of a new part of an appa- 
ratus, usually a modification of something similarly designed 
before, is unnecessarily made so as to require a new set of milling 
cutters which may cost several hundred dollars, or so that it is 
impossible to use or adapt some jig or fixture already made and 
in usable condition. 

Designmg draftsmen and engineers should have a good gen- 
eral idea of the construction of the tools they are principally 
concerned with and the action of stock under the press. In- 
struction sheets giving typical cases of die construction and 
standard practice sheets along the lines referred to have been 
used to good advantage. The designer should be informed 
under what condition, for instance, the inherent advantages of 
punched parts, notably low cost of labor, accuracy, etc., are 
realized, that stampings are essentially a quantity proposition 
so that he will resort to these forms in the proper places. The 
relative costs of different kinds of tools, together with their re- 
spective costs of product, plotted in the form of curves, are used 
to indicate when the one or other should be considered. 

Written standard practice instructions are one of the twelve 
fundamental eflficiency principles, and it is entirely wrong to 
ridicule efforts in this direction as an attempt to substitute an 
instruction book for the skill and experience of the designer. 
It is true, however, that it is difficult to give positive data when 
it comes to issuing definite rules for designers in regard to such 



248 PLANNING AND COORDINATING 

matter as possible depth of draw for different thicknesses and 
kinds of materials, steels, copper, aluminum, for there are 
many factors entering into the question, as the rounding of 
corners, clearance between punch and die, draft, type of press 
used, etc. But after a start is once made, fairly definite rules 
gradually work themselves out and are found to be of great 
benefit in the work. The limiting size of hole which may be 
punched in a given thickness of material is diflScult to give in a 
general statement. Usually the rough rule is made that the 
diameter of the hole should not be less than the thickness of the 
stock. This may be taken as a general rule, better than no 
guide at all, even though we might be shown that someone has 
successfully punched holes in material, the thickness of which 
greatly exceeded the diameter of the hole, by providing special 
stiffening supports for the punches or by other means. 

We have followed the steps leading up to the development of 
new tools to the point where requests for tool estimates were 
sent to the supervisor of tools and analyzed by him in coopera- 
tion with the tool records section, the chief tool designer, and the 
superintendent of the tool department. Having checked up 
the design of the parts, and after the changes, if any, have been 
made, estimates of the tool cost are prepared by the estimating 
section of the supervisor's office. There is the fundamental 
rule that such estimating means, not guessing, but a detailed 
calculation of the hours of labor in machining, hours of labor 
in assembling and fitting, at such and such rates of wages, 
burden chargeable to the work, amount of material of various 
kinds required in pounds and dollars, including also a reasonable 
amount of experimental work in connection with the making 
and trying-out of the tool. It is very essential that these esti- 
mates be made as accurately as possible, and in all cases, except 
for the simplest tool, the design should be laid out on the draw- 
ing board before estimating. 

As a necessary working basis, records of actual costs of similar 
tools should be available for ready reference, and they should 
be arranged in such a way that changes in labor rates or material 
prices can readily be taken into account. The giving of the 
hours of actual work, including allowance for doing over part of 



TOOL DEPARTMENT OPERATION 249 

the work, is essential, so that the production department may 
base its dehvery promise for tools on that time, taking, of 
course, into account the amount of work on hand when the 
order for the tools is received by the tool department. Owing 
to experiments, alterations, and the possibility of accidents in 
hardening, it is frequently difficult enough for the tool depart- 
ment to adhere to definite production schedules. On the other 
hand, a failure to meet promises for the completion of tools 
would be felt in all manufacturing departments and is likely to 
upset production schedules and delivery promises. 

If overtime is resorted to in making up for lost time, the tool 
cost is likely to exceed the estimate and controversies result, 
unless a revision of the estimate is made and approved before- 
hand. The estimator must be fully familiar with machining 
operations and must work in close cooperation with the rate- 
setting department. Under-estimating of the tool cost may 
result in loss of profits from sales; over-estimating by inaccurate 
or over-cautious figuring is equally undesirable, as it may result 
in the loss of business to the company. All estimated costs 
should be checked up against the actual cost, after the latter 
has been compiled upon completion of the tool. The form filled 
out as an estimate should state specifically how the tool was 
intended to be made, particularly in case no drawing is avail- 
able, and what existing parts of tools, if any, the estimator 
figured upon using. Otherwise a discrepancy between the esti- 
mated and actual costs will lead to controversies. 

If estimates are chronically exceeded, it is well to see whether 
the excess is due to remaking tools due to errors, to wrong charg- 
ing methods, to an incomplete estimate, or to alterations in the 
design of the part while the manufacture of the tool was in prog- 
ress. A graphic record of excess of tool estimates in percent- 
age has been found to lead to a gradual adjustment of the basis 
of estimating, and eventually estimates, accurate within a few 
per cent., are obtained, even in difficult cases where no precedent 
to be followed was at hand. 

According to usual practice the story should now go on to say 
that after the estimates are made, they are approved by the 
management and the manufacture of the tool proceeded with. 



250 PLANNING AND COORDINATING 

This procedure is wrong for two reasons. What more can an 
approval by the management, that is, a very busy works' 
manager or vice-president, be, than a general control of expenses 
and systems of handling work? The actual check, whether 
this tool or that in a long list may be omitted, or whether its cost 
is right and justified, must be made before the estimates receive 
a more or less perfunctory O.K. Further, it is only logical 
that the party ordering something to be done or requesting an 
estimate should be given a chance to say whether he is satisfied 
with the cost as estimated, before proceeding with the order. 

In our case the designing engineer has, in designing the new 
apparatus, knowingly assumed certain new tools to be required 
and the manufacturing superintendent desires certain tools to 
be made, but it is often quite a rude awakening to both of them 
to compare the carefully estimated costs of tools with what they 
thought they would cost when asking for them. There has 
been more than one instance in the writer's experience, where, 
upon reviewing the estimates, the engineer or manufacturing 
superintendent revised his requests. Therefore, after an esti- 
mate is completed it should be reviewed by the parties request- 
ing it, or whoever is most vitally interested in it, before final 
authorization is given. Then only, that is, after changes 
brought about by this check have been made, should the tools 
be actually ordered. This is done on suitable forms which 
either refer to the estimate as a basis or otherwise limit the 
amount authorized. Account number, date for and place of 
delivery of the tool, and existing tools, which may in part be 
used, should be stated on the blank by the proper persons in 
the planning or production departments. 

It is not intended in this article to enter into the design of 
tools, although supervision of this feature is part of the super- 
visor's functions, but it will be of interest to discuss briefly a 
few of the other points which come up in connection with tool 
development. Frequently the cost of tools as shown in esti- 
mates is criticized in a general way as being excessive. We may 
ignore critics not familiar with how the tools are constructed or 
what operations are involved, but the same statement may 
be made by those qualified to judge. The first step toward 



TOOL DEPARTMENT OPERATION 251 

reducing manufacturing costs of tools is standardization 
and quantity production. All tools which are made time and 
again, with perhaps slight modifications, should be of a uniform, 
standardized design in all details. Van Dyke prints of the 
different standard tools, to be filled in as required, reduce draft- 
ing expense. Production on a manufacturing scale, with piece 
or premium rates set as in other work, can be followed for all 
such parts as die shoes, punch holders, and many of the detail 
parts. The use of expensive steels should be resorted to spar- 
ingly and the saving carried to the point of, for instance, provid- 
ing different standards for the length of punches depending 
on the material to be punched, having shorter punches for 
copper or where long life and frequent regrinding are not re- 
quired. 

In many of our tool rooms there is still too much hand work 
done in place of machine methods, and special machines such 
as profilers are frequently warranted. The fine finishing and 
polishing of parts, which tool makers invariably like to do, must 
be limited. On the other hand, it is the writer's experience that 
this extra touching up (usually the first thing criticized by the 
casual observer) does not add as much as is often assumed to 
the cost, and it may be the part of wisdom to consider the feel- 
ings of the tool maker, whose ambition it is to turn out work of 
good appearance. That spirit, rare enough at the present time, 
should not shortsightedly be destroyed. 

In a small shop different degrees of care and refinement in 
executing a customer's order are easily followed; everyone 
knows who the apparatus is for, how many are to be made, and 
what parts must be accurate or where a little sloppy work does 
not matter. In this way all that is necessary may be done, and 
no more expense incurred than the individual case warrants. 
The large organization loses this advantage: it is difficult to 
have two standards of quality. This means that everything 
must be made for the most exacting case normally occurring, and 
that method naturally entails quite a bit of wasted effort and 
expense. 

In the tool department it is possible to give to a large organiz- 
ation that advantage, by establishing a section for "small 



252 PLANNING AND COORDINATING 

quantity tools" or temporary tools. That is, for tools made in 
the simplest possible way to fill an order on hand for a few 
hundred pieces. It has been found best to separate this work 
— which tool-makers at first are inclined to look down upon as 
patch work and dub the section the "cobbler shop" — from the 
main tool department, as otherwise a general lowering of the 
standard of workmanship might easily creep in. Not that 
these temporary tools do not produce perfect work for at 
least the quantity in order, but the general methods followed 
should not influence the manufacture of standard tools. Very 
surprising results in dollars and cents have been demonstrated 
by this temporary tool method. In one case, for instance, 
regular manufacturing tools were estimated at $1,200 for a 
small article selling for a few dollars a piece complete. The 
order called for 1,000 pieces and repeat orders were doubtful. 
It was possible, in part by using existing tools, in part by adapt- 
ing hand tools made originally to produce the experimental 
sample, to complete the entire order at an actual tool cost of 
less than $100. Had the tools been made as first estimated, 
the profits from sales would have been nil. 

Inasmuch as temporary tools are not very desirable in a 
punch shop or similar department under a regular manufactur- 
ing plan, the question may arise, "Is it not better to let the 
temporary tool room take care of the small orders for parts .f*" 
A compromise in this respect has been found best. So long as 
there are only a few such cases to be handled there is not much 
hardship imposed upon the tool room in filling the order while 
the dies are set up for trying out. On the other hand, the tool 
room should not be made a manufacturing section and the plan 
suggested should not be carried to extremes. 

It has already been stated that drawings should be made for 
all tools. As another step in keeping down tool cost it is neces- 
sary to get the men to work from the drawings. In any other 
department it would seem strange to make a special point of 
this self-evident matter, but in the tool room the men are still 
too much inclined to work by the cut-and-try method, or at 
best from sketches of their own or of the foreman. There are 
two things to keep in mind in this connection. The foreman 



TOOL DEPARTMENT OPERATION 253 

who spends his time in making sketches neglects his other work 
and his principal functions. And changes are more easily made 
on paper with the eraser than in and with pieces of tool steel. 
Just one example to show how these simple facts are forgotten : 
In the writer's experience large forming dies for rather heavy 
pressed work, weighing several thousand pounds, were made 
some years ago without first preparing drawings and thinking 
out carefully every point on paper. The result was innumer- 
able changes on the castings or forgings. Finally, there resulted 
a set of patched-up tools and much argument why they cost so 
much. Therefore, complete drawings of all tools should be 
made (filled-in prints will sometimes do), and these drawings 
should be followed by the men. 

During the manufacture of tools the parts should be care- 
fully inspected. There is no reason why the tool department 
has in the past been excepted from this generally accepted shop 
rule. This inspection should include a check of the principal 
points of the part made with the tool. To this end gages should 
be made simultaneously with the tool and included in the tool 
estimate to start with. Before the tool department delivers a 
tool a try-out should be made as a final check. It is necessary, 
therefore, to equip the tool department with facilities for such 
trials. 

When several sizes of an article similar in construction are 
to be made with tools, it is frequently possible to construct the 
dies so that succeeding sizes can be taken care of at relatively 
small tool cost if taken into account from the start. 

There are cases where the tool cost can be reduced by com- 
bining several operations into one, such as blanking and bend- 
ing, or drawing and piercing operations. On the other hand, 
attempts to have several operations performed in the same die 
may at times be less economical than several simple and straight- 
forward tools. A general rule in this respect cannot be given, 
but from the writer's experience there is a tendency to overrate 
the advantage of fewer operations. After all, each operation 
may amount to only a fraction of a cent in the cost of product, 
when we consider that presses make 75 to 90 strokes, that is, 
pieces, every minute. 



254 PLANNING AND COORDINATING 

Tools are not always made in order to cheapen production. 
Drill jigs and fixtures, for instance, are needed merely to pro- 
duce interchangeable parts. But as a rule the lower cost of 
production is the direct object, and the calculated saving should 
therefore be greater than the tool expense. It is well to state 
on the tool order the estimated saving by the use of the tool, 
together with the quantity, so that the tool cost may be bal- 
anced against the total saving. In this connection it is desir- 
able that a thorough understanding be had between the manu- 
facturing section which is to use the tool and the tool depart- 
ment, as to what is or can be expected of the tool in the way of 
accuracy, life, regrinding time, and so on, in order to avoid con- 
troversies later on. 

Sometimes tools are ordered by a manufacturing section 
which, in the judgment of the supervisor, should be purchased 
from outside concerns who make a specialty of the work and 
are better equipped for it. This consideration applies equally 
to the tools themselves as well as to parts made with the tools. 
The question is readily decided when the tool department on 
account of pressure of work is unable to produce the tools, but 
ordinarily a decision must be carefully based on the relative 
prices and the permanency of the demand. If permanent, the 
desirability of equipping for the work must be studied. 

Without going into that part of the work of a general super- 
visor of tools, which concerns his share in tool design, in stand- 
ardizing of tools and methods, or in research work on materials 
and processes, I have dwelt particularly on his duties in connec- 
tion with the development of new tools, as being the most im- 
portant part. Here his principal functions are to systematize 
methods of handling the preliminary work, to form the link 
between works and engineering, and to coordinate different 
ideas, all with a view to safeguarding against avoidable expense, 
by whatever methods may be demanded in the individual case. 
I have shown both that the work is important enough from the 
standpoint of management and the field broad enough to attract 
the best talent among mechanical engineers. 



COORDINATING INSPECTION WITH PRODUCTION 

BY GEORGE S. RADFORD 

IT IS vitally important, for the proper control of quality, 
that the inspection department be separated from the rest 
of the factory, and that it report directly to the manage- 
ment. To subordinate this function to either engineering or 
production is to cover up and conceal the shortcomings of the 
controlling department. The greatest value of the inspection 
service lies in its power to bring promptly to the attention of 
the management information as to the true state of affairs in 
the shops. The foreman-inspector of each shop is very close 
to what is going on in that shop, and is likely to be in the most 
unbiased state of mind because he is an observer rather than a 
producer. 

Counting the work done and certifying to it is part of the 
inspector's duty as a matter of course. Summarizing this data 
for reports to be used for the purposes of the pay-roll, the cost 
records, and the production records may or may not be depend- 
ing on the character of the work. If the latter warrants a well- 
developed inspection system, it is quite likely that the chief 
inspector of every sizeable department will require clerical assist- 
ance. If so, this clerk may just as well assemble the count of 
work performed in his department before it is transmitted to the 
general factory oflBces. When production and cost data are 
assembled and analyzed by the use of power-driven tabulating 
machines, the data may be collected at the original sources and 
its accuracy certified to by the inspectors, with the obvious 
advantage of securing competent assistance in gathering the 
information, together with the resultant saving in clerical ex- 
pense. The additional burden on the inspector is slight, and 
the duty tends to bring him closer to his job. 

There is another sort of information of equal or even greater 
importance, that the inspector is in the best position to obtain; 

255 



256 - PLANNING AND COORDINATING 

namely, the location of production troubles,'the isolation of their 
causes, and oftentimes the offering of suggestions for their cure. 
Production diflBculties ordinarily show up in the form of too 
great losses in spoilage, or through the slowing down of produc- 
tion at some operation; thus creating a "choke-point" or a 
partial "choke-point." It is essential, of course, to correct the 
difficulty as soon as possible, but to do this it is necessary to 
develop and bring to light the true causes. 

A very useful device for the prompt collection of such data 
may be secured by providing a printed form of "Trouble Re- 
port" to be made out and sent by foremen-inspectors of shops 
to the chief inspector, who will transmit such facts as seem 
worth attention to the department that should correct the 
trouble — ^the management being furnished with a copy. The 
trouble report should read preferably as follows: 

"From Foreman Inspector 

To Chief Inspector 

Shop Date 

Operation . Hour 

I report the following trouble 



I know think (scratch out one) that the trouble is due to the 
following cause 



A detailed list of usual troubles such as tools, gages, material, 
and so on, may be added for convenience, but the essential 
idea is to make the reporting executive feel the responsibility 
for promptly reporting the facts and nothing but the facts. 
Hence the requirements that he must state either that he 
"knows" or that he merely "thinks" that the trouble is due to 
the cause stated in his report. To be used successfully, the 
foreman-inspector must have confidence in the judgment, fair- 
ness, and courage of his superintendent; he must feel sure that 
he will be backed up if he is right. Further, the management 
should make it quite clear that it is looking for facts in order to 
cure troubles, and not to find someone to blame. There is no 



INSPECTION AND PRODUCTION 257 

surer way to put a premium on the concealment of facts than 
by trying to fix the blame on an individual, nor does blaming 
some one help to cure the trouble. 

After this cursory description of the use of trouble reports, 
there are certain phases of the psychology involved that deserve 
detailed consideration. In the first place, if the device of the 
trouble report is to be successfully applied, the inspector must 
be made to feel that he is exercising a trust, and that the man- 
agement reposes unusual confidence in his impartiality and ad- 
herence to accuracy. The psychological stimulus has two prac- 
tical results — first, you will get more truthful information; 
and secondly, the inspector will perform his other duties with 
the increased efl&ciency that flows from a stronger realization 
of his value to the organization. There are very few men in- 
deed who will not rise, in spirit as well as in act, to meet in- 
creased responsibilities. 

At the same time that you are impressing the inspector with 
this feeling, you should inculcate the certain knowledge that 
you are going to insist on accuracy. You accomplish the latter 
purpose by requiring him to state in each report that he knows 
what he is talking about, or else he just thinks the situation is 
thus and so. There is quite a distinction involved, both in the 
report itself, as well as in the action you are likely to take, al- 
though it is of comparatively little importance which form the 
report takes, provided the inspector truthfully states the degree 
of his belief as to the facts. 

Experience in a very large and highly organized inspection 
department developed some very interesting reactions, which 
accounts for the emphasis given to this subject. This form of 
report was designed, first, because it was vitally important to 
get the best available information about a complex manufac- 
turing situation as soon as possible; and secondly, because 
stiffening up the morale was judged to be the most important 
thing in reorganizing this particular inspection department. A 
few days after the form of report was placed in the hands of 
the foremen-inspectors, reports began to come in without either 
word "7 know" or "7 think" scratched out. That was to be 
expected, as the inspection force had been made to feel that its 



258 PLANNING AND COORDINATING 

work might be performed negligently or otherwise, without visi- 
ble effect on the running of the plant. Such reports were re- 
turned promptly with the request that they be corrected in 
this respect. The inference was clear that the reports were 
considered of value, and were to be used. Some of these reports 
never came back, as was hoped, and reports become fewer; but 
over ninety "per cent, of them read " / know." When the manage- 
ment began to take action on the more important reports, the 
inspector's growing feeling of responsibility was confirmed by 
seeing things begin to happen, and the effect on the morale of 
the entire department was very marked. 

As stated at first, the use of such reports carries with it the 
necessity of using them in the spirit in which all scientifically 
trained minds should work. They should be received as the 
opinion of an impartial observer reporting things as he views 
them; and as being presented in a spirit of helpful and construc- 
tive criticism. The department whose work is most involved 
must be made to feel this, and to accept it in the same spirit. 
If the report is not well founded, no one is reflected upon so 
much as the inspector. If the report is correct, no one should 
be so glad to know it and to correct the trouble, as the depart- 
ment responsible for so doing. It is distinctly up to the man- 
agement to secure this coordination and in fact, to require a 
spirit of mutual confidence and good-fellowship. This is ap- 
parently a small point, but it is vital. 

After the various component parts have passed inspection 
in the respective parts-making shops, and have been placed in 
the finished parts stores prior to being issued to the assembling 
department, it may be assumed with reasonable assurance that 
they can be assembled satisfactorily. There is an ever-present 
tendency, however, for work to slip away from the desired 
standards of quality, and to do so by such small daily incre- 
ments that the changes are difficult of detection. Measuring 
devices, whether gages or precision instruments of more general 
type, and cutting tools, are subject to wear like everything else. 
The fact that the wear does not take place rapidly or evenly 
makes the process all the more subtle and insidious. Then 
there is always the chance of a gage being accidentally injured, 



INSPECTION AND PRODUCTION 259 

and work incorrectly handled in consequence. In close work, 
these troubles are accentuated by personal errors and by a 
multitude of other things. 

The net effect is that in spite of every reasonable precaution, 
quality will slip, and that errors may not be detected until the 
parts are issued for assembling. If the errors are due to gradual 
wear or similar cause, the condition will be manifested first by 
a slowly increasing difficulty in assembling, which is more dan- 
gerous than an absolute failure to assemble. For example, a 
part may assemble satisfactorily, and even pass final tests in the 
assembled mechanism, and still be just smooth enough outside 
the lowest permissible limits to wear into a non-functioning 
shape after a short time in actual service. 

There was a particular make of engine that was of excellent 
and even very advanced design, which nevertheless failed in 
certain cases, most unexpectedly, after being used for a short 
time. A cursory viewing of the factory's inspection, or lack 
of it in any systematically controlled form, revealed an obvious 
reason for the service troubles that were killing future business. 
Parts of the mechanism required very accurate work. Some of 
these parts, with proper inspection lacking, were bound to be 
just good enough to pass factory tests, but not good enough 
to stand up very long in actual use. 

With a highly organized inspection service in the shops and 
extending into the sub-assembly and final assembly rooms, a 
means is provided for checking such difficulties. The direct 
work of inspecting in the assembling department is often of less 
value, however, than the collection of information of value to 
the rest of the factory. The assembling rooms are a particularly 
fertile field for revealing errors, and the inspection department, 
for the reasons previously stated, is specially in a position to 
catch these errors, and to pass the word about them back into 
the factory for the help and guidance of all. Time is a vital 
factor in such matters, and a well-organized inspection service 
will be able to send the warning back along the line with the 
proper speed. The possibilities of such a service are so great, 
that it may be the part of wisdom to place the assembling under 
the general control of the head of the inspection department, 



260 PLANNING AND COORDINATING 

especially if such a combination of duties will serve as a further 
reason for selecting a man of larger calibre for that important 
position. 

Curiously enough, there is often a greater reason for increas- 
ing the importance of the inspector's position in the assembling 
department, if the work is not strictly interchangeable. In this 
case, selection of parts follows as a matter of course, and very 
often can, and should, be made a separate operation from that 
of putting the parts together. The work of choosing parts that 
will mate properly involves measuring the parts and then sort- 
ing them out in a systematic manner into a few groups, each of 
which is made up of parts of very nearly the same dimension. 
The process is simpler if the work is of a character to warrant 
the use of selective gaging. It is merely an extension of division 
of labor to separate this work of sorting from that of assembling, 
and the sorting is more closely allied to inspection than it is to 
production. 

An example of this kind is to be found in the manufacture of 
rifles or pistols, which have raised sight bases integral with the 
barrel. The barrel has a milled thread which screws into a 
similarly threaded opening in the receiver or frame. The barrel 
must screw into the frame so that the sight bases are in line with 
the vertical plane of the frame (to insure correct alignment for 
the sights); and, in addition, the barrel and receiver must be 
drawn together at a given pension, this "draw" being required 
to be between given limits expressed in pounds for a stated 
lever arm or length of wrench. Both the barrel and the frame 
require many operations to complete them before they are ready 
for assembling, and several of these operations are referred back 
to the location of the milled threads and sight bases. Needless 
to say, it is not the simplest matter in the world to so locate and 
mill the threads as to fulfill the two conditions of sight align- 
ment and draw of threaded joint, while still conforming to full 
interchangeability. Therefore, if a proportion of the parts 
demand selective assembling, a very considerable amount of 
work can be saved if the parts are separately gaged, with gages 
provided with, say, ten numbered stages to indicate correspond- 
ing positions in relation to the draw marks when the gages are 



INSPECTION AND PRODUCTION 261 

set up with a fixed turning moment to, say, "n" pounds at the 
end of a wrench "a" inches long. The female gage applied 
to the barrel and the male gage applied to the frame are so cali- 
brated that barrels drawing to point "8" on the barrel gage, for 
example, will properly mate with frames drawing to point "8" 
on the frame gage and so on; and the parts sorted accordingly 
before issuing to the assemblers. 

This method may be applied in principle to many cases in 
which economy indicates the desirability of selective assembly. 
It will be noted that what really happens is that the inspection 
and sorting of parts secures the assembling advantages of true 
interchangeability. 

Doubtless you have noted that many factories that have 
very complete systems for production control are more con- 
cerned with the paper records of the system than they are with 
the systematic and orderly arrangement of the work in process 
of manufacture in the shops. The machinery may be, and 
probably is, arranged to secure the best possible compromise for 
straight-line routing. If the volume of work is great and on 
one product, the machines are arranged in the order of the oper- 
ations, so that work flows from machine to machine in regular 
sequence. If the work is varied in character, the machines are 
arranged by classes, as lathes, planers, millers, and so forth. 
In either case it is likely that planning and routing are well 
cared for in any modern shop. But how about the work in 
process? It is a common fault to have it piled all over the shop. 
Even if the work flows directly from machine to machine, it is 
no unusual sight to observe parts rusting at the bottom of 
a pile where they have lain for months, or other parts in like 
condition under an inspector's bench. 

The first point to be determined is whether this condition 
should be corrected. In certain places, as in a great shipyard 
machine shop, it may not be practical to attempt it. In most 
cases, however, it is worth while to make the effort; nor need it 
involve much expense to do so, provided the inspection depart- 
ment is effectively organized and managed, and this duty is 
turned over to it. If central inspection is in use, the job is 
readily taken care of. If not, the inspector at least can guide 



262 PLANNING AND COORDINATING 

the work into a more orderly arrangement by being given the 
authority to order work moved to the next machine after he has 
passed it; which assignment of work naturally carries with it 
the custody of work in process. A little encouragement of the 
inspection department will develop a "fatherly" interest in the 
work itself, from which will result a more orderly shop. 

While considering the advantages that are obtained by a 
more systematic arrangement of the shop as regards work in 
process, we should not overlook the effect of order (and the 
greater shop cleanliness it permits) upon the working force. 
An artist's temperament may be suited, perhaps, to doing good 
work under messy conditions, but the average man does better 
work if his environment is orderly and clean. It is well recog- 
nized that a desk covered with papers is not desirable. It has 
come to be regarded as an indication of a mind in the same con- 
dition as the desk. Does not the same criterion hold in the 
shop.f^ 

The first step in securing order, assuming a reasonably good 
shop arrangement, is the prompt sorting out of work as it leaves 
the machine, followed, of course, by a systematic placing of the 
work after it has been sorted. 

Sorting out work in process by inspection requires that we 
have some sort of classification to use as a guide, for we cannot 
dismiss the matter lightly by merely saying that work is good 
or bad. The parts or pieces of work that are passed by the 
inspector may be designated as good parts or good work, as this 
terminology is brief. The term good work is definite and accu- 
rate enough, provided we remember that the work is probably up 
to standard, the mental reservation being that the inspector 
may be wrong. Hence the necessity for applying sampling 
tests to good parts from time to time, and for surrounding the 
inspector's work with other safeguards. Obviously, good parts 
require no other treatment than to be passed on to the next 
stage in their manufacture, assuming that some definite place 
is assigned for their temporary storage until the succeeding 
operation. 

Rejected work, or if you prefer a shorter term, bad work, calls 
for analysis into several classes with appropriate definitions for 



INSPECTION AND PRODUCTION 263 

each class. As in the case of good work, we must remember 
the possibiHty of error on the inspector's part, so that work re- 
jected on the first inspection may be passed on re-inspection. 
It is quite the usual thing in the inspection of all kinds of work, 
from shipbuilding to small interchangeable and high-grade 
parts, to have some of the rejected work really all right for pass- 
ing as up to standard. 

As we are concerned principally with interchangeable parts, 
because such work furnishes the widest range of examples illus- 
trative of inspection, let us next take up the question of how the 
rejects should be handled. The first step is to sort out those 
which require only a re-machining on the machine from which 
they just came. Usually enough metal has not been removed, 
or further polishing is required; and the work can be made good 
by the shop itself. Ordinarily this work should be done by 
the machine-operator who did the work in the first place, and 
on his own time. 

The rejects remaining after taking out the "shop repairs" 
should be accumulated at some point in the shop, preferably in 
a space set aside as the shop salvage space and under the care of 
the inspection department. At this stage, when sufficient re- 
jects are accumulated to warrant the work, a re-inspection 
should be made, in which the parts are separated into two and 
possibly three classes as follows: 

Spoiled parts, which should be sent to the factory salvage 
room to be kept under lock and key; for if this is not done, some 
of them, under stress for production, are apt to find their way 
back into process by some path or other. In the salvage de- 
partment, they will be carefully examined with a view to their 
conversion into the most marketable form, either as scrap, or 
for some other purpose. Circumstances will indicate whether 
they should be mutilated to prevent their use except as scrap, 
or sold as they are, for use in another article. Springs, for ex- 
ample, may be sold to a consumer whose needs are fulfilled 
perfectly well by your rejected springs. You can afford to sup- 
ply him at a lower price than he would otherwise pay, and both 
of you make money. A cleverly handled salvage department, 
which classifies the scrap from a large factory in this way, and 



264 PLANNING AND COORDINATING 

which is alertly in search of good markets for its goods, is a 
money-maker in itself. 

Rejected parts which require special work to bring them up 
to standard and which exist in suflficient quantity to warrant 
such repairs, should be sent to a separate parts-repairing de- 
partment, specially designated as such, and located clear of the 
regular production departments. This is the place for the all- 
around mechanic with a penchant for improvising and invent- 
ing. Supply this little shop (let us hope it is a little one any- 
way) with a few general utility machines, welding outfits, and 
so on, and considerable loss will be avoided. Apply the most 
rigorous inspection to both its work during the repairs and to 
its output. 

In the course of repairing some parts, occasions may arise 
when it is necessary for the repair department to send the work 
out into the factory for some treatment or process beyond the 
repair shop's capacity. If this occurs, by all means provide a 
special routing card of distinguishing color to go with the work, 
and return the work finally to the repair shop for inspection. 
The repair-shop inspector cannot otherwise be held responsible 
for the quality of repaired work of this character. In addition, 
he knows best what defects to look for by reason of his previous 
acquaintance with the parts in question. Finally, the repair 
department should keep a follow-up record of all of its work so 
sent out. 

It may be possible that certain rejected work may be suitable 
for use in a second-grade product, not marketed under the 
standard label. If this is the case, we have the third classifica- 
tion of rejected work just mentioned. 

It is suggested that very careful consideration be given to 
the matter of a separate repair shop for rejected parts. Too 
frequently the attempt is made to do such work, or a large 
part of it, in the parts-making shops. Then again, work is 
often scrapped otherwise, that would have been restored to a 
perfectly satisfactory condition in a special repair shop whose 
working force is skilled in such things and proud of its ability to 
accomplish the apparently impossible. Also, the effect on pro- 
duction of having repairs made in the local parts-making shops 



INSPECTION AND PRODUCTION 265 

must be recognized. Such work calls for the more expert 
workman, so that the repairs cost not only the direct time of 
such men, but also the indirect cost of lessened output due to 
their separation from the regular production work. 

One more reason for the separate repair shop: when a great 
quantity of parts are turned loose in a large and complexly 
equipped shop, strange and curious things happen. Some parts 
are likely to run wild unless their fields of movement are care- 
fully restricted. If repair work is superimposed on the routine 
production, some of the "repairs" are quite capable of running 
in circles. They are inspected and repaired, and inspected 
again. The same individual pieces are returned for repairs and 
then inspected and so on indefimitely, until they give way under 
the strain of so much activity, which is greatly to be desired 
because it is cheaper. Circling is of more frequent occurrence 
than might be imagined, because it is exceedingly difficult to 
detect, unless your work is of such a character that the inspector 
stamps a mark on the work after each inspection. Even stamp- 
ing may not prove effective, and in any case, the danger of cir- 
cling is obviated by rigorously excluding repair work from the 
parts-making shops as soon as it is found. 

With work classified by inspection as indicated above, it is 
no difficult matter to count the work of each class and tabulate 
the results. In this way, the inspection force provides the usual 
production data, as referred to in the preceding chapters. Cer- 
tain of this information, however, is of special interest to the 
individual workman, and may be used to great advantage in 
stimulating better workmanship and its associated greater 
production. In the first place, the output of good parts for the 
day may be posted on a shop bulletin board devoted to this pur- 
pose only. The data should be presented in simple form, and 
the results contrasted with the scheduled output desired. To 
this may be added other significant information, such as the 
statement, for example, that "Operation No. 23 spoiled 20 per 
cent, of its pieces to-day. This is a difficult process, but we will 
have to hustle to-morrow to meet the schedule." Workmen are 
interested in this sort of thing — much more so than might be 
supposed. If they are not, then it is well to know it, for it is ad- 



266 PLANNING AND COORDINATING 

vance notice to the management to overhaul the things that 
affect the goodwill of the so-called "human factor." 

As bulletin boards have been mentioned, may I interject the 
thought that they can be made much more useful as an instru- 
ment of publicity, if attention is given to taking down notices as 
well as to posting them? The ordinary or "garden-variety" of 
shop bulletin boards are plastered with papers and notices of 
ancient vintage. Their effectiveness is increased remarkably 
by keeping them absolutely cleared except when you wish to get 
something across quickly. Then post your notice, briefly 
worded and clearly printed in large type, and just as soon as it 
has served its purpose, have it taken down, and the boards left 
clear as before. 

Much of the data accumulated by the inspection department 
is of even greater interest to individual workers than to the en- 
tire shop working force, considered collectively. Bill Jones's 
interest in his work can be stimulated very often by showing him 
the effect that his personal endeavors have had on the output of 
his shop. The inspection department's records will provide 
the excuse for Bill's production boss to discuss things with him 
in a friendly way. Good-fellowship is pretty sure to result, 
and the chances are better than even that both Bill and the 
factory will profit as he begins to react to this sort of stimula- 
tion. 

In view of the feeling of some executives, I should hesitate 
to advance this thought, if I had not seen the results in practice, 
for this is not theory, but hard fact. We talk a great deal 
about welfare work and carry some of it into effect with very 
desirable results, but what can be closer to the workman's in- 
terest than his regular work.? You must answer for yourself, 
whether the opportunities for building up the worker's interest 
in what he is doing are utilized to the full in the plant or plants 
in which you are personally interested. I do not refer to creat- 
ing a bread-and-butter interest — that is the usual aim of in- 
centives for stimulating production — but rather to the pride of 
good workmanship and the satisfaction of personal achievement 
which go to make up the worker's professional pride. 



PREVENTING MAN AND MACHINE IDLENESS 

BY WILLIAM L. ALBRO 



H 



AVE you ever visited a large manufacturing plant and 
noticed the idle equipment? Have you ever noticed 
idle workmen and realized the amount of unproducing 
capital this idleness represents? Are there other machines of 
the same class which are over-burdened with work? Could 
the idle machines help to bring the over-burdened machines to 
schedule? Where are the operators for these idle machines? 
Are they producing according to their ability? Do you reahze 
that there is a way to keep this idleness at a minimum? 

Every manufacturer and production manager should ask him- 
self these questions and find out what his answers would be 
if someone should ask them unexpectedly. 

The amount of lost time of both men and machines in your 
plant amounts to, "What? Can you answer this question off- 
hand? Take a trip through your plant and try and estimate 
what this apparently insignificant phase of your plant's workings 
amounts to in dollars and cents. 

The management of the H. H. Franklin Manufacturing Com- 
pany realized what this idleness amounted to and organized, 
through their employment department, ways and means to bring 
it to a minimum. Their efforts have been successful, and I will 
outline the manner of operation. 

"Working without a plan is like sailing without a com- 
pass." With this maxim as our guide we planned our work 
as follows : 

1. Survey of present conditions 

2. Report of findings 

3. Recommendation for action and plan for organization 

4. Organization 

5. Operation 

6. Report of results 

267 



268 PLANNING AND COORDINATING 

The production manager appointed a man who had training 
along mechanical and scientific management lines to carry out 
this plan; he was added to the personnel of the employment 
department under the supervision of the employment manager. 
His oflBce was to be "Balance of labor and production clerk." 
He was instructed to spend at least one month and more, if 
necessary, on his survey of present conditions, and as much time 
as necessary to obtain results on the balance of the plan. 

Every department of the production oflSce was studied in 
detail as to its management, operation, and relation to other 
departments, with special emphasis on the control and despatch 
division. After mastering this, shop conditions were studied, 
foremen and workmen were interviewed for their opinions as 
to present conditions and were asked for suggestions as to how 
they could be improved. 

REPORT OF FINDINGS 

There are four main causes of idleness of both machines and 
men; these are again subdivided as to more definite causes as 
follows: 

A machine would sometimes stay idle for days and then again 
for weeks before it would be put into operation. There was 
no way of checking back to see if this machine could help out 
some other machine of the same kind that was over-burdened 
with work. Machine breakdowns were not closely checked to 
see that the machine was placed back into operation as soon as 
possible. If it was for "man-cause, " there were no substitutes 
or understudies available to keep the machine running. If it 
was for tool troubles, there were no means of determining the 
nature of the trouble, nor any standard remedy. If it was for 
material trouble, there were no standard remedies. 

Although our plant has been operated for several years past 
under scientific management principles, and we felt that we had 
reached a relatively high standard of efl&ciency, still we found on 
careful investigation that there were several small wastes of 
productive time which, when considered cumulatively by the 
method hereinafter described, were surprising as to their amount 
and frequency. If a man received an idle time card he might 



MAN AND MACHINE IDLENESS 269 

roam about his department for a long period before he would 
again receive a job, and in exceptional cases he would have a 
tendency to roam about the factory to visit his friends. There 
was no standard procedure, when a man went idle, for placing 
him on work where he could produce according to his ability. 
The despatch department made an effort to place the man on 
other work, but not knowing what else the man could do, these 
efforts were of little or no avail. I have seen skilled mechanics 
filing castings and burning bolts. No other thing will discour- 
age a skilled mechanic so much as to have to do unskilled work, 
or have to do a boy's job. The foremen tried to place the idle 
men, but not knowing what jobs were urgent their efforts were 
of no avail. 

A machine or group of machines might be chronically over- 
burdened or might have excessive idleness, yet this would not 
be noticed by the production manager or his supporters, due to 
the fact that there was no chart or other means of giving a 
graphic condition of burden or idleness; therefore, congested 
points would not be relieved and red tags (work behind schedule) 
would pile up. Idle machines would not be given a chance to 
relieve this congestion. The amount of work behind schedule 
was reported in a lump total, so no one could determine exactly 
what parts were held up, or on what operation, or for what 
cause. 

There was no absolute method of proving by facts why or 
when new employees were needed, or for what machines they 
were required. 

It was recommended that an idle machine board be built of 
sufficient size to accommodate 24 sheets of graph paper 
(11| X 17j inches), to finish both sides of this board so that the 
graphs of last month could be kept up for reference, and that a 
platform be constructed so that the poster could reach all parts 
of the board. 

The graphs to be prepared as follows: 

A. Graph sheets to be purchased, size 11^ x 17j inches. 

B. At the top of each sheet to be placed the name of the 
month, sheet number, and above each square the number of 
each work day of the month. 



270 



PLANNING AND COORDINATING 



C. On the left-hand margin to be placed: (a) machine 
group name (this will be signified by symbol as — A. F., Full 
Automatic); (b) machine number and location symbol with 
leader machine in first place; (c) one line between machine 
groups in a single machine class to be skipped, and three lines 



..-.« 




RED TAG REPORT 


eHCPT Mn 1' 




■ - 


(MACHINE NO 


MACHINES m 
CROUP 


NgMBER OF 
RED TAGS 


NUNieER OF 
REGULAR JOBS 


DATE OF FIRST 
JOB 


DATE OF LAST 
JOB 


A.F. 












8 


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J 


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55 


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DATE IS! 
CATC. RE 


!uro / - jr- / JT 


criutD /- i--/ f 


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POSTED 


B, a^. 



Fig. 1. Monthly Red Tag Report— 8 x 11 Inches— Wokk Behind Schedule 



MAN AND MACHINE IDLENESS 



271 



between different machine group classes; (d) machine classes to 
be arranged in alphabetical order. 

D. Information as to machine location and groupings 
to be procured from the machine and material location book 
which is kept up to date by the tool and operation depart- 
ment. 

E. New sheets to be made every month. 

F. Sheets ready to be drawn off the board to be placed in a 
suitable book in numerical and monthly order for future refer- 
ence. 

A form, size 8x11 inches, is to be printed and called the 
"Red Tag Report," this form to be ruled and have spaces for 
machine number and symbol, number of red tags (work behind 
schedule), number of regular jobs, date of first job, and date of 
last job. (See Figure 1). Each month these reports are to be 
prepared by the employment department as follows: Using 
duplicator ribbon, number each sheet from one up, place in col- 
umn for machine number and symbol, the number and symbol 
of each leader machine in each group to be arranged as on the 
idle machine board. Have a sufficient number duplicated to 
last one month. Deliver these forms to the despatch depart- 
ment, which will deliver to the employment department, not 
later than 9 a. m. the following 
morning, a complete report of 
the available jobs for each 
machine group. 

Devise a form in duplicate 
to include all the causes for 
machine idleness as mentioned 
in a preceding paragraph, so 
that it will be necessary only 
to check the cause for idleness 
that fits each individual case. 
Name this ticket "Idle Ma- 





"■"""'*' ettf. 28 10.40 AH. 


1«>8 


"tl^ 


/f on 


••""> }ta. 28 10.02 M. H18 


IH Ol^. 


D >» 


IDLE MACHINE RECORD 


•^^ 




1 /■ 


MACHINE 


TOOLS t 


/ 


Bteak-down 




Fixture Lacking 




Under Repair 




Rxturt Defectlvo 




Power Shut-otfs 




Supplies Lacking 




Belt Breakege 




Supplies Delectiva 








Tool Release Lacking 


























klAN 


MATERIALS J 




AteenI 




Not up to Mactilne 




No Operator Assigned 


Urgent on Preceding Machine 




Reg, Opr. on other Work 




Ahead ot Schedule 








Up but No Orders 








Up but No Inst Card 








DISPATCH aERH-lswt.Wrli CMU.Swid Whit, to M.W., 


1.5UID 


•^ 


MASTER WORKMAN-Vcrify vkI R.tum to OUpatch 


"sy"" 


/•-* 


DISPATCH CLERK-ComiKn vid wlwi wnO unO 10 
Cmit.Dept totwPosttd- 


KMTBJ 


JUC 



Fig. 2. Idle Machine Ticket 



chine Record"; reserve space 

for time-clock records so that 

the elapse of time shall be recorded ; place in upper right-hand 

corner space for machine number and symbol and elapse of time 



m 



PLANNING AND COORDINATING 



T^,!,,.,, 


- 


Jan. 26 

Jan. 2S 










. HOURS 


"ISTST- 


■;::: 


10.02 m 1918. 






MATE 


AMOUNT 


IDLE MAN 1 " 


"^ F-No. 115 






"."»"| /^z>^ 1 ~-' ^^^..^.^ 


To"' yc, I 


TOOLS 


MATERIALS J 




Lacking, or Missing 




Lot Incomplete 




Defective, or Faulty 




Tags Missing 




Delayed lor Grinding 




Not up to Machine 




Delayed (or Supplies 








MACHINE 




INSTRUCTIONS 


t^ 


Break down 




Lacking, or Missing 




Repairmen working on 




Defective, or Incomplete- 




Belt Troubles 




Error (jt Clerk or Man 




Power Shutoffs 




Inspection Troubles 




Setting up Machine 




Job Cards Missing 


Remarks;- 








L^KvHvE'rE-oV 


FOREMAN 


-^--^ 


DISPATCH 


^ 


RAT.DIV 


^.^/^. 




_ 









Fig. 3. Idle Man Ticket 



in hours and tenths; at the bottom place the procedure for 

each man who is directly concerned and space at the right for 

his signature. (See Figure 2.) 

Devise and have printed a form that will show sheet number, 

leader machine number, num- 
ber of machines in group, 
number of red tags, drawing 
numbers, number of parts, 
operation number, lot numbers, 
number of lots and their dates. 
This analysis is to be drawn 
from the despatch cage every 
week to give a synopsis of 
the amount of work behind 
schedule and the exact stage 
of completion, that is, where it 
is and how near completion. 

These analyses are to be given to the production manager, his 

assistant, the factory superintendent, chief inspector, and the 

chief stock-chaser, as a guide where to direct their most earnest 

effort. A comparison summary of this report is to be made 

each week by giving the total of 

red tags charged against each 

department, opposite these 

totals the totals of two months 

ago, and opposite these the per- 
centage gained or lost shown 

by a + or — sign. A grand 

total of all red tags in the 

factory is to be shown and its 

percentage gained or lost 

shown by the -|- or — sign. 

This summary will be a key 

to direct attention to the 

departments which are lagging ^^°- ^' Causes of Man and Machine 

behind. 
Use the present form which is constructed similar to the idle 

machine record but of different color, have instructions on the 




^iJMHmg or Bliitng 
IMfMtlv* or Inocjgl^to 
BTor of oltrk or rata 
liupaotloa tmiblat 
Job atfd« Blitlag 



MAN AND MACHINE IDLENESS 273 

reverse side as to the way to use them, why they are given, and 
the time hmit of a single idle time ticket. (See Figures 3 and 

4.) 

Construct on graph sheets, as used on the idle machine board, 
a graph curve to show the amounts of idle time, separated to 
the four main reasons — tools, machine, materials, instructions. 
Construct separate curves for each department. The time is 
to be calculated by the week, a summary made, and the totals 
added to the graphs. This will give a graphic condition of the 
idleness, the department it is most pronounced in and the cause. 

Devise and print a questionnaire to give the employee's name, 
department number, address, telephone number, married or 
single, nationality, whether or not he is an American citizen, 
different languages he speaks, educational record, the number 
of processes he is capable of performing, and an affidavit from 
his foreman as verification of all the facts. All processes used 
in this factory to be listed with a space for the length of time 
worked as follows: 



Engine Lathe Opr. 
J. & L. Opr. 



Yr. 



Mo. 



Lo-swing Opr. 
Hd. Screw Opr. 



Yr. Mo 



In a Rand file, cards giving man's processes are to be recorded 
in departmental numerical order. These processes are also to 
be catalogued in a separate file under processes, where all em- 
ployees who can operate a J. & L. will be catalogued under 
head of "J. & L.," all men who can operate an engine lathe 
under head of "Engine Lathe," etc. If it is necessary to shift a 
man who becomes idle to another job we know from the Rand 
file where we can use him to advantage, or if we need a J. & L. 
operator on quick notice we can refer to our catalogued process 
file and find an available man. By this method we always 
work within our force and hire in at the bottom only semi-skilled 
or unskilled labor, thus reducing our skilled labor turnover to a 
minimum. In times of work fluxation in various departments 
we can shift surplus labor to or from departments with a greater 
degree of accuracy and discretion. 



274 PLANNING AND COORDINATING 

A. Construct an idle machine board as outlined above. 

B. Procure idle machine tickets, having them printed in 
duplicate alternating white and yellow. 

C. Instruct the despatch department when a machine goes 
idle to issue an idle machine ticket, mark cause of idleness, send 
white copy to master workman, post yellow in machine rack. 
Instruct master workman to verify as to machine number, cause 
for idleness, and return to despatch department. The latter will 
then send to employment department when agreed as to cause 
of idleness. The employment department will post this idlenes 
on the idle machine board as follows : (a) Idleness is posted 
under date headings, and opposite corresponding machine 
numbers, (b) Idleness is shown by color as follows: 

Labor, red 

Material, black 

Absence, yellow 

Tools, blue 

Machine, green 

(c) On completion of posting, the tickets are placed on file for 
a period of two months. 

D. Construct and deliver to the despatch department the 
red tag report blanks as outlined above. Instruct despatch 
department to draw off a report each work day that will contain 
such information as, the number of red tags, number of regular 
jobs, with date of the first and last job of each machine group 
as outlined in the report. These reports to be delivered to the 
employment department not later than 9 a. m. the following 
morning. The idle machine board poster will record in the 
respective square, opposite the leader machine and under the 
correct date, the number of red tags in the right-hand small 
square and, in small numbers, the number of regular jobs above 
the left-hand small square with the two dates in the left-hand 
small square. After posting, the report is turned over to the 
idle machine board supervisor who makes the necessary notes, 
then it is to be filed for a period of two months. 

E. When necessary report to the production manager all 
doubtful cases so that corrective action can be taken. 



MAN AND MACHINE IDLENESS 275 

F. Idle man tickets are to be handled as outlined for idle 
machine tickets, and delivered to the employment department 
not later than 9 a. m. the following day. The time limit of an 
idle man ticket is one hour and if at the end of that time the 
man is idle, the despatch department will send the man to the 
employment department, which will consult the process file, 
and send him to a department where the need for men permits 
and where he will produce according to his ability. The des- 
patch department will be notified by a temporary transfer where 
the man is to be sent, and, when production conditions require 
the man's return, the despatch department will notify his tem- 
porary foreman who will send him back to his regular depart- 
ment. Idle man records are to be maintained as outlined in a 
preceding paragraph. Reports are to be made to the produc- 
tion manager if there are any doubtful cases, or if any depart- 
ment has an exorbitant amount of idle man time charged up to 
it. 

G. When it becomes necessary to change the sheets on the 
idle machine board, the old sheets are to be placed in a suitable 
book with regard to months and sheet numbers. 

REPORT OF RESULTS 

The first three months that this system was in operation the 
idleness decreased 50 per cent, and has been steadily decreasing 
every month. An absolute check on red tags (work behind 
schedule) is made possible. Red tags are kept to a minimum 
as it is easy to plan a re-routing of the flow of work to the ma- 
chines which are idle for lack of work or are not heavily bur- 
dened. It gives the production manager a graphic condition of 
the entire factory at all times. It shows the employment de- 
partment where the need for men is the greatest. See Figure 5 
plotted for a typical month. 

To show a graphic condition of the work behind schedule in 
the entire factory we compiled all the data we collected on red 
tags, and plotted curves by departments using a different color 
for each department. These curves were available at all times 
to all persons who were concerned in reducing factory burden, 
and they acted as a guide where to concentrate the most earnest 



276 



PLANNING AND COORDINATING 



efforts. The main object was to keep the lines on a downward 
trend and to keep peaks off the chart. 

From time to time the idle machine charts were laid out ac- 
cording to months and to machine groups, to give the condition 
of each individual group or class groups for a period of six 
months or more. Then an analysis was drawn off which in- 
cluded all the factors as shown. This shows the production 
manager where the need for extra equipment exists, where 









..._^- ^.>^/ ^^ /\ ^'^ 










^^ /\ /»« -_ .., -^ 








u 


^ — ^ . / s^ '*''i^ \(^-^ -^ " S .'^ -- — ^ \ 










X "S. Tepl^ 0>- ^ ^ s. 



Fig. 5. Curves for Month Showing 
Where Men Are Most Needed 

excessive equipment is located, where the flow of work is un- 
even, the prevailing cause of idleness on certain machines or 
machine groups, the need of new equipment to replace old where 
the machine is constantly going idle for repairs, and a number 
of little details which are of great assistance to the production 
manager and his staff. 

The production manager, his assistant, the tool and operation 
department heads, foremen, and even workmen consult the idle 
machine chart daily for this, that, or the other reason, proving 
that it is of utmost importance to have an up-to-date method 
of idleness and burden control that will at all times give the ex- 
act conditions as they exist in the shop, whether or not these 
conditions are improving and where the source of the trouble is. 



ROUTING 

How to Route a Multi-Part Mechanism 
Evolution of the Progress Sheet 



HOW TO ROUTE A MULTI-PART MECHANISM 

BY H. K. HATHAWAY 

THE photograph Figure 1 shows, in the form in which it 
is to-day manufactured, the automatic machine, which 
Taylor developed and first had built while he was at Mid- 
vale for grinding cutting tools for lathe, planer, and boring mill 
work to the shapes and angles adopted as standard. This 
machine and the standard tools which it grinds are some of the 
fruits of his investigation in the art of cutting metals which 
started with his early efforts to set honest piece rates. 

Quite apart from any sentimental reasons, or perhaps in addi- 
tion thereto, I have selected the route charts for the Taylor 
grinder, because it presents practically all of the features that 
may be encountered in the routing of any fabricated article and 
at the same time is simple enough to be readily understood. 
Figure 2 is the diagram or chart showing the final assembling 
of the machine. The list under the title at the left indicates 
that the machine may be divided into eight principal groups, 
seven of which may be assembled independently previously 
to being combined with the parts making up the "miscellaneous 
group." One of these, the Base Group, is made up of three 
divisions, two of which may be independently assembled and a 
"miscellaneous division" consisting mainly of parts used in 
putting together the divisions GTBN and GTBP. 

It will be seen that the several groups appear on this chart as 
single units — just as though they were taken already assembled 
from stock, two of them, GTB and GTH, being required for the 
first assembling operation IGT and the others being called for 
as the work progresses. It will be noted that the location of 
the groups on the chart for final assembling fixes the relative 
importance, from an order of work standpoint, of the several 
groups rather than the alphabetical arrangement of the list of 
the groups at the right of the diagram. That the base group 

279 



280 ROUTING 

should appear first in both cases is a coincidence in symboHzing. 
A study of the chart reveals the fact that until the Base Group 
and Hood Group are put together no other operations of the 
final assembling may be done. Operations 2GT, 3GT, and 6GT 
may, however (providing the parts are ready) , be done simul- 
taneously by three different men of different degrees of skill, 
thus reducing the time the machines will take up space on the 
assembling fioor. It will also be apparent that while operation 
6GT may be performed any time after operation IGT, it need 
not be done until after the fifth operation. 

Sometimes we learn as much by observing the imperfections 
of the object we are studying as we do from having its good 
points brought to our attention. In the diagram under con- 
sideration there are three defects — or rather, deviations from 
the rules — and if my readers were a class I should ask them to 
find them. 

The first of these faults is that the diagram is drawn as if the 
Indexing Device Group GTD and the Platen Group GTT were 
to be united by the performance of operation 3GT. The fact 
is that they are to be united with the Base Group and the Hood 
Group which were brought together by operation IGT. Two 
courses, either of which would have conformed to the rules, lay 
open to the route man, either to place the two groups concerned 
and operation 3GT in the same section of the chart as the units 
assembled by operation 2GT, or to place them in the section 
pertaining to operations 4GT and 5GT. Either course would 
not, however, provide for performing the operation indepen- 
dently of operations 2GT, 4GT, and 5GT, which seems to ac- 
count for the compromise. The second defect in the case of 
operation 6GT is similar to the one just cited and in view of the 
group GTW being more or less in the way, it is a question 
whether it might not be better to defer this operation until 
after operation 5GT and for this reason the operation is desig- 
nated at 6GT instead of 4GT as would otherwise seem more 
natural. 

The third point open to criticism is that there seems to be 
no particular reason why operation 4GT should not have been 
treated in the same manner as operation 6GT. As shown it 




Fig. 1. Taylor Tool Grinder 

The names and symbols indicating groups and parts will help to an 

understanding of the Route Charts. Photograph by courtesy 

of The Tabor Manufacturing Co. 



81 



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THE TABOR Mr&.Ca 

PHILA. PA. 



nii in 



lOSCILLATG CAM 
Dr. 59898 



GT2MI 



fir 



^= 



' l-Chip & file V & g-ftiint first coat V28 
■i''2t2"CoW Rolled Steel 
l-Cut off MI D. 2-Bor^, face & turn L9 



Sgt^m 

To Aaser 



|''%"Cold' Rolled Steel 
|-Thre<7d, ciroove 8c cut off LI6. 



SVil^SIR 

lb Assem. 



SVJ^ilR 

lb Assem. 



■ \\ Cold ^Rolled Steel - ■, 
l-Cutoff LI6. E-Centre & turn LIS. 



SVII'iSIR 
lb Assem. 



■SPRING SWIVLL GT3MI 

z Dr5l96& 

■COLLAR on SPINDLE 6T4MI 
. Dr 50459 ' 

P POST for 3PRIN<5 GT5MI 
=■ Dr 50488 



■"l^Ax^Cold Rolled Steel ' , ■ 5Vl^ix^53RL 

l-Cut off Mlg.^Lay out IQ3-Dril1 PI. afile slots 8c round ends VZZ. Tb A ssem. 7 



BIcink tye Bolt, Type A, Williams Cwt SVIZ9B 

l-Weld §h«inks on bolt B5.(Do not post until 5VI5IM is at BS. See issue in 



pocket) 2-Centr e & turn L5. 



To Assem. 



■ rBlcinKE:yeBolt,^peA,Willic!rrfsCat ■ . SVIZ9B 

Weld sht^nks on bolt BS(Do not post until SVISIMisat BS.See issue in 
. pocket) 2-C entr9 8c turn L3 . To Assem. 



Issue to BS for IT9M- 
"" " " "IT6M- 



B*6TAPLRPIN, SV«6x2*4Zt1 
ISPRING SMV^x5xlV?8WT L,. 
(■"MACHINt STELtL SVISltvl fSJl 
irMACHINE: STELL SVISIM 
IIS'PULLtY Dr59904 SGIT22M J 



ICAM ShlAFT 

Dr 59892 

ILOCWNG PLATt 
Dr5l3l4 

■rULCRUN^ PIN 
Dr. 51316 

■ LOCKING PIN 

Dr. 50494 

■OSCILLATb LLVLR 6R. 

■ DOWLL PIN MV^ix 



GT6MI 



GT7MI 



GT&MI 



GT9Mfl 



GTJ^ 

l''4ZDP 



ASSEMBLING 6T^ 

£>riyeOSCUA77NGCAMon 
CAM SHAFl Mild: ream for 
TAPER RH.M SHAFT throjah 
STAND, ml en PULLEY &s(xun 
wilh S[T SCREWS Screw HEX 
NUTonPOSirorSf^m,screty 
POSThto STAND & hqhtenNUT 
Put COOMo) SPINDLE put OSOLL- 
. ATING LEVER In place & put in 
. ntCRUUm Put LmiNG PLATE 
, onSTAtlCldnll, tap&Secu/rmtti 
i'1-XlitACH.XREWSPutSWinLS 
■W31 onSPRINGputSPmGonPOSrS 
Locate (MlARS, bycentraliz- 
in^EUERY WtlEEL mtfi PLATE 
on APRON & trying tt>n>iv of 
CAM&LEm, drill & ream Tor 
'6TAPER PINS dcdrinh PINS 
Drill for DOWEL PINS thruCAP 
& BEARING & put in PINS 
Dr9979 - v24 



_■ aH.MACH.SCREW SVM-a)xi?Z4M 



►^Yift-1916 



eiTI 



S3I 



1-34 



13" 
26"' 



'Z\ ^h 



Iron Cflstinq 

l-Bore 8( face L3. 2-Dril! DIO. 3Chip & file V26. 
4-ftilnt firit Cont V26 =^=^=_= 
[Brass Cc^stinq 

LChip & file V 26. 2-ftiint first coat Vgfi 
■"I'^le" Hex Cold Rolled Steel 
|-Tum8itti readLI4 



SGTIOMi 

"lb Assem. 



26Ta 



5GTIIM 

ToAssem. _ 
5VI'i6S2R 
ToAssem. 



■"«2" Mactiine Steel SV'-^SIM 

l-Bend BS .2-R;^int first coat V28 „ ToAssem. 

i"l''is''Cold l^olled Steel SVIhsSIR 

I'Turn.cut off & chamfer. LI6. ToAssem. 



WIDLLR- 
J Dr 50447 

•jaiROPL GUARD 
=^4 Dn 50464 

j-lSTUO 



GTIOMB 
6TIIMH 



GTI2MB 

. Dr50497» 

■ yoke: GTI5MB 

\, Dr, 50522 

]■ TRUNNION 



W: 



GTI4M 

Dr. 50521 
COUNTERWT GROUP GTCB) 
^2HE:XNUT 5V^2Z2n}SJ3 



ASSEMBLING 6TB 

ffsmotv L.H.SIDE BAP from 
COUNTEftwaetIT GROUP. Driye 
TRUNNIONS into MAINTIiAML Put 
COUNTERWEIGHT GROUP in place 
on TRUNNIONS & secure Lft.S/DE 
BAR witti HEX BOLTS. Scrw 
STUDS for IDiEPS into HOOD & 
MAIN FRAME,put IDLERS a POPE 
GUARDS on Studs 8c scretv on 
NUTS. Put ROPE on YOHE & 
throuq/ilDLEfiSainto DRUM. 
Put CaUNTEPWEJGHTonLJi 
SIDEBAR. 
Dr. 9979 V2 



46TI 



Sit PLATEN pa'rctlklwifl) 
shears on MAINFRAME. 
VfZi Set INDEXING DEVICE so 
ttiat PARALLEL BAP rests 
squaray on PLATEN. Scribe 
line on CLAMPING ARM coin- 
cident to zero on ANGLE 
INDEX Afon HEIGHT 
SCALE & stamp zero 
Dr96l6 V3 



I INDEX'G DEVICE Gi^OUP GTDl 



I PLATEN 



GTT( 



ASSLMBUNG GTB 

Set PLATEN GROUPon MAIN 

FRAME Jkmovt hwerfxilfor 

■W32 BLARING on INDEXVDEV/CEput 

DEVICEonLKBEARINCa^i/re 

Dr9979 VZ9 

39TB 



S6TI 



TAYLOR UNIVERSAL 
TOOL GRINDER 

8 GROUPS 

L BASE GROUP GTB 

MAIN FRAMt DIVISION GTBN 

PUNP « , GTBP 

MlSCtU n GTBM 

2.C0UNTERWEIGHT GROUP GTC 



3. INDEXING DEVICE 
4.tt00D „ 

5.05CILLA"hNGLEVERn 
& PLATEN H 

7 WATER TOWER n 
aWtSCELL n 



GTD 
GTH 
GTJ 
6TT 
GTW 
GTM* 



ASSEMBLING 6T^ 

PuttVATER GUARD onMAIN 
FRAME&sKurv mttr SET 
SCREWS Scrvtf UL CUPS into 
SPINDLE BEARINGS & SNAP 
OILERS info STAND /or 
OSCILLATING DEVICE 
Dr9979 V5 

7GTIB 

Stamp MANUFACTtmrtS \ 
ORDER on MACHINC V9 



SGTI 



>BSIT 



Test MACHINE 



t' I Iron Casting SGTISMi 

ayout L0.2-Drill8ctapD]j: J-Chip&fileV254-f^inf fff-stcoatvas 
%k\\w4 to dry for 24 hrs.) 5-Putty V28 (Allow to in for M hri) 6-Fi'l 
[yg8(All ow to dry for 24hrs) 7Rub down 6< RiintVZS ToAssem . 

if' 



Dr. 9802 



9GTI 



I '■z SET SCREW 
|i'4 0ILCUP 
I'SSMAP OXER 



Mnt MACHINE 



5Vt:x2ZIS 

SVfiAIL 

5V'5A3L 



535 



v^& 

lOOTB 



IWATER TOWER GROUP 



l^'aHEX BOLT 



ASSEMBUNG GTB 

Put WATER TOWER ai HOOD & secure 
■W34 with HFX BOLTS 
W\Am\ Or9979 ^V4 



GTW 



Slusfj MACH/NC , I 



To Stores 



IIGTI 



Fig. 2. Route Chart for "Final Assembung" of Taylor Tool Grinder 



HOW TO ROUTE A MULTI-PART MECHANISM 281 

would seem that operation 5GT could not or should not be per- 
formed until after operation 4GT, but this does not appear to 
be borne out by the construction of the machine, as shown by 
the photograph Figure 1. 

From a practical standpoint, however, these defects, if mdeed 
they may be so called, are harmless, and I have commented on 
them only to show the sort of questions that the Route Man 
must decide in making a chart and, that even with the best of 
routing, the person handling the Shop Order of Work function 
must understand the route charts and be competent to exercise 
good judgment. He will always play safe if he follows the steps 
in the numerical sequence laid down by the Route Chart (and 
the Assembhng Route Sheet as was explained in my last article), 
but in order to shorten the time required for assembling or in a 
pinch to keep men supplied with work, an intelligent reading of 
the Route Chart, and possibly consultation with the Route Man, 
may enable him to make certain deviations to satisfy conditions 
out of the ordinary. Figure 3 shows the assembling route sheet 
GIT. 

The Chart Figure 4 shows the assembling of the principal 
group— GTB. On this chart it will be noted that the Assem- 
bled Main Frame Division GTBN and Pump Division GTBP 
are shown as single items or units in the same manner as are the 
parts constituting the Miscellaneous Division with which they 
are united to make the complete Base Group. In the final 
assembling of this group there are no units that may be assem- 
bled simultaneously. The parts grouped in the section W4 
and S4 may, however, have operations IGTB to 8GTB inclusive 
performed upon them simultaneously with, or previously to, 
the assembling of the divisions GTBN and GTBP. Apart from 
this the assembling is a series of consecutive steps. 

The most interesting feature of this chart is the inter-depen- 
dency of various parts. For example, in the case of GTBlM 
it is shown that the second operation may not be performed 
until pieces GTB2M and B3M are finished and delivered to the 
layout table. Piece GTB2M may not be drilled (operation 
4GTB2M) until piece GT2J from another group has had certain 
operations performed upon it and is delivered to drill press 




fes' _ 

g.E.E_|g 



282 



-W* 



^■&- 



11 E2U & SSU are at LO 



guidance of the 
shop 



_W4 



-tea. 

.J.**. 



ntil GT2J' 19 at D U 



c a 



i guidance of the 
; shop 



pPS* 



ij 


LI»TO»P*«T« tl«Oe^O»THI» 1 
. ; ,OflOU> 0« OIWIStOM , 


s 




"V«^""."vr."»'- 


1 I If 1*5" 






B T 1 M 




m^zifi 


2 


?<3 






n T w 












(J T H 
























1 




^0 






































' 
































































































































































































. ■ 






















- 


■ 
























- 






























. 






1 1 1 




1 1 1 












i- 








1 








I - 1 IN 







X T 



c 



1 T 1 



_1Q_ WANTED 



ii 


U«T Of PART8 M*OC ^0« TH19 
QKOUP.CHDIVIOOr) 


3 


1 


"""V"","":" 


HI 






G T 2 M 




m^,/sxi\mv 


2 


..iX. 




T 3 W 




f?V-|Z2W ■ 






T 4 M 




SV14-20xiZ4M 


_2. 




T 5 M 




RV#6x2-?ZT 


JL 




G T 6 M 




3MV7/32X7/32X 






n T f vt 




l.q/lfixSflWT 


1 




R T R M 




3G1T22M 


1 




G T 9 M 










G T Jl 










. ■ 1 








?. 




5J- 








G T T) 










-.52. 




G T T 


















jj 




'i?, 








G T 10 M 






TV^7?.W 


_i. 


"33 




G T 11 M 










G T 12 W 










G T 13 Jf 










G T 14 M 










G T C 


















4 




53 








T W 






liV3/Bxl:tZlH ■ 


2 
















6 




54 






_-ii± 




G T 15 M 






W^X2Z1S 


2 


__i5. 








W|A1T. 


_2. - 








JV#5A3I. 


2 












i"? 




55 




































































1 





1 


«■!»•• o 




.CO 


LUMN CAN AC PCnrOMMCO 




9; J w 

^ * M ^ ' 


0««,.O.S.«.H,SCO.„---US,_.CP„PO.^^^ 


^o,..«cc...,o« 












T 22 


1 G T 


• • • • 30 










9979 








9979 


Do not post until 


f 


V 24 


2 T 


.... 

: : : : 31 










9979 


1 T IB flnielwd. 




T 29 


3 T 


: : : : 32 










9929 










• •'•• 33 


V 22 


4 T 








9816 


^11.' 


V 3 


SOT 








9979 


Do not poBt until 
1 T iB f InlBhed. 




V 4 


6 T 


:•:• 34 










9979 


: : : : 35 


V 5 


7 G T 




















V 9 


8 T 










: :; : 


V 10 


9 T 










:::: 


V 28 


10 C T 




















V 35 


U G T 




















TO STORES. 





Fuj. 3. Route Sheet for Fin.\l Assembling Showing the Manner in Which the Deviations from the Ritle in the Case of 
Operations :^ot, ogt, and Ggt Are Called to the .\TTE.VTio>f of the Ohdkk of Work and Rkcordivg Clerks 



»9 



» 3:.3,Ss»^iBS..- 



IRON CASTING 

MATERIAL OROERtD FOK 

MATERIAL IN STORES 

1 14 

2 r 1 

3 B 3 
4, L 4 

5 L 

6 D 11 

To Assem. 



G 



_W5 



Dn. ^$ 

S0469^-.._ RES' 



P. O. ITEM 

1 G T B 4 U 

2 G T B 4 M 

3 G T B 4 U 

4 G T B 4 U 

5 G T B 4 U 

6 G T B 4 M 



Do not poet until B5M 1b at L4, 
:Sumisirlze all oserations with ESU 



Fig. 7. Piece Route Sheet for Gtb4m 
Showing the two being machined together 



G 



1 T 1 



T S 5 M 



-W» 



3 I L.H.Eearlng 



IRON CASTING 

MATERIAL ORDERED FOV. 

MATERIAL IN STORES 

To L4 for 1S4H 



Fig. 8. Piece Route Sheet for Gtb5m 

Note that on these and other route sheets the operations are indicated by symbol only. 
Full description of each operation is provided by instruction cards to which the operation 
symbol serves as an index. The importance of the detailed instruction cards is emphasized by 
the fact that operations 1 and 4 are performed in the same machine 



284 



HOW TO ROUTE A MULTI-PART MECHANISM 285 

No. 11 (Dll). See Figures 5 and 6 for the manner in which 
this is treated on the route sheets for the individual pieces. 

As the two bearings GTB4M and GTB5M are quite similar, 
it is desirable that the several operations be performed on both 
at the same time — this is what is meant by the note " Summar- 
ize all operations with B5M " shown in connection with the first 
operation on GTB4M. (See Route Sheets Figures 7 and 8.) 
The differences in the work on these two bearings, which it will 
be noted are made according to different drawings, will be cov- 
ered in detail by the instruction card. This brings out the point 
that two or more different articles may be handled on the same 
route sheet as a single job where they follow the same route 
path, i. e., when all or most of the operations are similar and may 
be done at the same machine or work-place. Such a procedure 
may be desirable from a mechanical standpoint or to decrease 
the cost and trouble incident to putting through a number of 
small jobs routed separately, whereas they may be combined 
to gain some of the advantages of production in larger quan- 
tities. In some industries the combination of a number of more 
or less similar articles into one manufacturing lot is the only 
course economically feasible. 

The interdependency of operations on various parts com- 
mented on above is shown by notes on the route sheets for the 
parts concerned, and the Shop Order of Work Supervisor and his 
assistants are governed thereby in regulating the performance 
of the work in the shop. Any one who has had experience as 
foreman or superintendent of a shop handling a variety of work 
will appreciate the difficulties and danger of errors, where, as 
under the old way of doing things, such matters had to be 
planned largely on the spur of the moment amid the bustle in- 
cident to shop operation and often perforce left to be taken 
care of by the individual workmen who might or might not be 
sufficiently familiar with the products to understand the re- 
quirements. Even under the best of circumstances lowered 
production was inevitable. To these men the value of orderly 
planning in advance such as we have been discussing will be at 
once and fully apparent. 

The question may be raised as to why the paint, putty, and 



- V- 



i? 



odcdScDu o r -7 1- ?3 

l-l-l-HI- H-l-t- i-i-i- 
OO^O CD O U) O O O U) 



CD 



i35 

ii 

D 



< 

to or 

bJO 

-•p 



o 
S5s e 



c t e c K 



I— LJ > 



oj 1-rt "^ uj (D (■-■ <5 



is 

cflr 

Ul 













> 5; 
gQ 

H 
10 









<VI 



' B 


m 


■ 


B' 


<OvO 


a 


XL 


a 


a. 


f*' pj-j 


CO 


CO 
rfl 




10 


j^<^ 


j- 


♦- 


1- 


1- 


^^^ 


«j> 


O 


«& 


^ > 


>>> 


en 

CO 


o 


CO 


!^ 


!n<n'0 


l-g 


•^ 


^ 


tt? 


u 


q^ 


^& 


ds 


ID 






?. % 




286 



'MTsn^ncrtSjuoi'F 




Fig. 10. Pump Division of Base Group 

Note the assembled "Idler Section" consisting of parts grouped as 
W3 and S3 on chart G T B P. Fig. 9. 



HOW TO ROUTE A MULTI-PART MECHANISM 287 

filler required for operations 5GTB to 8GTB are not shown on 
the chart. The reason is that it is impracticable to issue and 
charge to the manufacturing order for each job on which these 
materials are to be used the exact amount required, hence they 
are treated as shop supplies being drawn from stores as required 
and charged to the appropriate departmental expense symbol 
and distributed as indirect expense. The " hourly cost number" 
(machine or work-place rate) for painting is made to include 
this item of expense. 

Figure 9, the chart for the Pump Division of the Base Group 
GTBP which is shown by photograph, Figure 10, is a nice clean- 
cut little diagram, showing two units which are to be assembled 
independently and then united by the performance of operation 
3GTBP. The two units might have been given symbols des- 
ignating them as sections thus: 

GTBPF— Frame Section of Pump Division of Base Group. 
GTBPR— Idler Section, etc. 

The piece numbers would then appear in front of 
the section letter thus— GTBPlF, GTBPlR, etc. 
In a larger and more complicated machine this 
might have been desirable, but would serve no real 
purpose in this case. 
It has no doubt been observed that when the parts have been 
finished and assembled the symbols shorten by dropping out the 
piece number; when the divisions are imited it is further short- 
ened by dropping off the division letter and similarly the group 
letter is dropped off in the final assembling. 

The reader may have some difficulty in understanding why 
the symbols of certain worked material stores shown on Figures 
2 and 4 should start with M. As a matter of fact, this is due to a 
lack of foresight. When the original classification for the Table 
Manufacturing Company was drawn up, they manufactured 
only molding machines and hence, as such parts might be and 
were used on several types of classes of their product, they were 
symbohzed as "Parts for Use in a Variety of Molding Ma- 
chines" which the letters MV indicate. Inasmuch as parts of 
the character referred to may be used in the building of any 
kind of machines, it was a mistake to have used the letter M. 



288 ROUTING 

They should have been classified accordingly, the letter V des- 
ignating the main class. As such parts are sometimes manu- 
factured and sometimes purchased, the simple prefixing of the 
letter S would then have brought them in their allotted place in 
the Stores Classification. This and other corrections have been 
made in the Tabor Classification, but I have let it stand on the 
chart to emphasize the necessity for taking into account and 
providing for the possibility of new products when working 
up a classification, as changes and revisions after the system is 
well established are annoying and sometimes expensive. 

As the three examples shown cover practically all of the varia- 
tions to be met in making route charts, I have not thought it 
necessary to reproduce the diagrams for the other groups of the 
tool grinder. 

Taylor, in explaining the construction of a route chart, used 
to liken it to a river into which flowed creeks which were fed 
by brooks into which flowed smaller streams. Reversing this 
simile, Mr. John W. Carter, who while in charge of Routing at 
the Tabor Manufacturing Co., contributed to the development 
of that function in a paper on Routing presented before the 
Taylor Society in 1917, compared the construction of a route 
chart to that of a tree with the trunk representing the complete 
product, the limbs, groups; branches, the divisions; twigs the 
pieces. 

Following out this line of thought the reader will see that if 
it were desired, the construction of the entire machine might 
be shown on one continuous diagram in which the divisions 
would flow progressively into the groups and the groups into 
the complete machine. Such a diagram would, however, be so 
unwieldy as to make its use almost impracticable, and hence 
the practice of showing the details of each division and group 
on a separate sheet and on the chart for the next larger unit 
to which they pertain, treating them as single units in the same 
manner as the individual parts. 

While the literature of Scientific Management has scarcely 
touched on the important function of Routing, its development 
was well advanced twenty-four years ago, as will be borne out 
by reference to Figures 11 and 12, which are, I believe, the ear- 



HOW TO ROUTE A MULTI-PART MECHANISM 289 

liest examples of Taylor route charts, having been made In 1896 
while he was engaged in installing his methods for the Steel 
Motors Co., of Johnstown, Pa. These charts, which are part 
of a set for a 30 H.P. motor, are chiefly of interest from a his- 
torical point of view, showing the progress that Taylor 
made even at that early date in the development of a mechan- 
ism of management. It will be noted that these charts do not 
indicate the source of special classified stores (SMCSHlA, etc.), 
and that while the operations on the various pieces are indicated, 
the specific machines and work places at which the work is to 
be done are not given, this evidently still being left for the 
Order of Work Clerk to determine as the work progressed. 
Evidently it was at about this period that routing began to estab- 
lish itself as an independent function. 

The placing of the size at the end of the symbol for the com- 
pleted article MC3 — Fig. 11, is at variance with later practice, 
indicating that the scheme of using the symbol followed by a 
lot number had not yet been evolved. To-day we would write 
it M3C and the order number or charge symbol would be M3C1 
for the first lot, M3C2 for the second lot, etc. Mr. Barth tells 
me that the size, while designated as 3, was actually 30 H. P. 
— the naught having been omitted as understood and un- 
necessary inasmuch as the company built nothing smaller than 
10 H.P. Placing the 3 after the letter C instead of before it also 
conflicted with the piece number in several instances as will be 
seen by reference to Figure 11— MC31M, MC32M, etc. These 
are pieces in the "Miscellaneous Group" and would in accord- 
ance with the present practice be written M3C1M, M3C2M, 
etc. 

Reference to the symbols for assembling operations MlC3, 
M2C3, etc., shows that the operation number was placed after 
the first letter instead of in front of the symbol as we would now 
write it. The present practice is so logical and its advantages 
are so obvious as to make us wonder that anything different 
should have been done. 

The Brush Holder Group MC3H, Figure 12, it will be seen, 
consists of only one independent assembled unit comprising 
the parts grouped as Wl and Si (worked material issue No. 1 



CO 
O 




P ^ 

inS f 

UJ I » "^ 



a-S" -^ na "." "-l 
■S5»- -i» CIS at! "i^ 

* 5 S S -.in .S. 



N N' C* « 





. I- 


£ 


iS n 11 


Sci 3 S 




— 1_X__J1. 


<•«■»•-> 5 S - 






3.S 


y 1 1 } ! 




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oi % i i i 

oS s Si S »> 

W« - « M fi 



I Bi 





X 

CO 


3 


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o . 

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2fe 


1 - 


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CifTififinn 



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H 




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s 




Q 




tn 






n 


w 




« 


^ 


Q 




?^ 


& 


P 


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Ph 


H 


O 


O 




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s 




(H 


n 


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291 



292 ROUTING 

and Stores issue No. 1), which according to the symbol MC3HA 
constitute the Arm Division of the Brush Holder Group and of 
a "Miscellaneous Division" consisting of parts (not assembled), 
which are attached as a result of operations M1C3H and 
M2C3H. 

On the chart for final assembling it will be seen that there are 
four other groups MC3A, MC3B, MC3F, and MC3G, in addi- 
tion to the Brush Holder Group. For each of these groups there 
is a chart as in the case of MC3H, while on the final chart they 
appear as single manufactured units. 



EVOLUTION OF THE PROGRESS SHEET 

BY H. K. HATHAWAY 



T^! 



^HE routing mechanism developed by Taylor and his 
. earlier associates involved, when I became acquainted 
X with it, the use of a "Progress Sheet" as a connectmg 
link between the route sheets governing the work on the individ- 
ual parts (piece route sheets) and those for assembling the sec- 
tions, divisions, groups to which the parts belonged, ihe 
assembling route sheets, which were in form and manner of use 
essentially the same as the piece route sheets, did not indicate 
whether or not stock parts to be drawn from stores for use m 
assembling were apportioned, assigned (on hand and reserved), 
or issued; nor did they show what parts made specially tor the 
order were completed. Hence, if he were to be governed by 
the route sheets in starting assembling operations the Shop 
Order of Work Supervisor would be obliged to go frequently 
through the piece route sheets pertaming to the assembled units 
to learn when the last of the parts had been finished and deliv- 
ered to the Assembling Department, and then to send the Stores 
and Worked Material issues to the storeroom. Quite often 
the storekeeper would report back that he could not supply all 
of the items called for and this later on led to the "assignment 
of materials from the quantities shown by the balance sheets 
to be on hand, as explained in previous articles. The Progress 
Sheet Figure 1, was intended to and did in some measure bridge 
the glp between the piece route sheets and their assembling 
route sheet, but there were too many instances m which all ot 
the parts for an assembled unit were finished, but through an 
oversight the operation orders for assembling had not been is- 
sued I recall that during the early days at the Tabor Manu- 
facturing Company, the Gang Boss in charge of assembling, an 
exceptionally alert and competent man who was quick to avail 
himself of the advantages afforded by the system, made a prac- 



293 



294 ROUTING 

tice of checking up deliveries of parts with his copies of the route 
charts and frequently, if the stock parts did not come along from 
the storeroom or the operation orders for assembling appear 
promptly on his bulletin board, he would call the attention of the 
Planning Department to its shortcomings in the vigorous if 
sometimes inelegant language of the old-time machine shop 
foreman. This was real cooperation — and while, of course, the 
system ought and does in perhaps 90 per cent, of all cases func- 
tion properly, it is the duty of a Gang Boss to check up the 
Planning Department, reporting such things, for example as 
materials in his department for which the operation orders do 
not appear in a reasonable time upon his bulletin board, jobs 
which are not promptly moved upon the completion of an oper- 
ation, etc., etc. Even though in many instances it may be 
found that there is a satisfactory reason for the condition re- 
ported, the Shop Order of Work Supervisor should give each case 
prompt and courteous consideration. No system, however 
well devised, will function perfectly — it is human to err, eternal 
vigilance and checking up is the price of success. 

The early Progress Sheets referred to had a two-fold object: 
First, to show in condensed form on a single sheet the stage to 
which the building of a machine had progressed without the 
necessity of looking through the large number of route sheets 
pertaining to the parts and assembled units. Second, to in- 
dicate to the Shop Order of Work Supervisor or his assistant 
the Recording Clerk when all the parts for a division or group 
had been finished and the operation orders for assembling might 
be issued. The first of these objects they served very well 
and in the Planning Department of a large works with many 
manufacturing orders in progress they are still desirable in one 
form or another as they facilitate the keeping track of progress 
by the Production Superintendent and others concerned to a 
great extent without interfering either with the working mechan- 
ism or those who must be constantly using it in running the 
shop. They add, however, the work of "checking" to record 
progress at certain stages on sheets filed separately from the 
route sheets which has its objectionable features and they, as 
I have pointed out, were not entirely satisfactory in the accom- 



95 
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PROGRESS OF WORK ON MANUFACTURING ORDER N^ UlZl&APZ 
DLSCRIPTION: 15"x lelx 4" POWER RAMMING POWEIR DRAFT MACHINE. QUANTITY \0 
FLASK PIN DRAWING AND VIBRATOR FRAME LOCKING DELVICLS DATE. TO BL 

FINISHED 



OFFICE, 
WORK 


BASE 

GROUP 
M13184PB 


HEAD 

GROUP 
M131&4PH 


YOKL 

GROUP 
MI3184.PY 


MISCELLNS 

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MI5I64PM 


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MI3I84P 




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'DATE 
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HOURS 
WORK 




OPER- 
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DATE 
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■m 


HOURS 
WORK 


GROUPS 


DATE 
TO BE 
FIN. 


HOURS 
WORK 


KEIY TO LLTTERS 
INDICATING OPERATIONS 


CtiRRESPONDElNCE 








MO 






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Fig. 1. E.\RLY Form of Progress Sheet 



n .V,'!,T !.l'!" r""''''"""" *\f "'1 of « Siven class of work in the various parts pertaining to an Assembled Unit— PS indicat. 
a c lu c k mark was made in the appropriate space on the Progress Sheet. 

for thrfir«l'T« -?.Ti'-* had thus been ch-awn opposite all of the operations to be performed on the parts of a div 

tor ttie hrst assembling operation was issued. 



ndicated by the route sheets — 
ision the operation order 




ing route sheet and progress sheet illustrated in previous 



29 

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SO] 

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II 



EVOLUTION OF THE PROGRESS SHEET 295 

plishment of the second object — that of controlling assembling 
operations. 

The combined assembling route sheets and progress sheet 
developed by Mr. John Carter, which has been described in pre- 
vious articles, overcomes the objections cited, but still necessi- 
tates the Shop Order of Work Supervisor having recourse to the 
Route Charts — which are not in his principal working mechan- 
ism, the Route Files — ^for certain information that may be es- 
sential to planning to the best advantage. 

To overcome the disadvantages and shortcomings incident to 
using the older form of separately filed progress sheets, as a part 
of the working mechanism as well as to make all of the informa- 
tion contained by the charts conveniently available to those 
using the route files, Mr. Carl G. Barth devised a method which 
presents some novel features while retaining virtually all of the 
advantages aimed at by the earlier methods. And here it may 
well be noted that Mr. Earth's is the only marked development 
that has been made in Taylor's original scheme of routing. 

Essentially what Mr. Barth did was to draw up his Route 
Charts in such form and size, as: 

a. To permit their being placed in the Route Files in front 
of the piece route sheets to which they pertained. 

b. To make them serve the dual purpose of assembling 
route sheets and progress sheets. 

Through the courtesy of Mr. Barth I am able to produce the 
charts for final assembling of the Telescope Group of a Warner 
and Swasey Azimuth Instrument, which were made during the 
time he was engaged in directing the application of Taylor's 
methods in the Arsenals of the United States Army Ordnance 
Department. 

The student of Scientific Management will find it worth while 
to read the report of General William Crozier* in which he gives 
a most interesting account of the results achieved in the face 
of obstacles such as are unknown to civilian industry. This is 
indeed a strange case of human inconsistency — one would sup- 

*Report of the Chief of Ordnance to the Secretary of War, 1911, 1912, 1913; ako an address by General 
Crozier, "Scientific Management in Government Establishments," Bulletin of the Taylor Society, Vol. 1, 
No. 5, October, 1915, and Report of Hearings before Special Committee of House of Representatives to In- 
vestigate Taylor and Other Systems of Shop Management. 



296 ROUTING 

pose that every citizen would be vitally interested in having 
government plants operated economically and efficiently as 
General Crozier's report indicates conclusively that they were 
in those cases where Scientific Management had been applied; 
and yet shortly thereafter the people's representatives in Con- 
gress passed legislation, the object of which might only be in- 
terpreted as to prevent the continuation and further develop- 
ment of those methods-of management to which Crozier credited 
the savings and increased production shown by his report. 
Contrast this with the order issued by the French Government 
requiring the application of the same methods in shops produc- 
ing munitions of war.* Present high tax rates and changed 
conditions may lead the citizens of the country and their repre- 
sentatives to take a different view and action. "Mais retour- 
nons a nos moutons." 

It will be seen that the diagram for the Telescope Group has 
been broken up and is shown on three sheets of a size suitable 
to be placed in the route file instead of being shown as a contin- 
uous diagram on a single sheet — as In the diagrams illustrating 
the preceding article. If it were to be so shown the arrange- 
ment would be as drawn on the skeleton diagram, Figure 2. 
Of course, some of the chart's graphic value is lost through this 
process of breaking up into smaller units — which bears out the 
old adage that there is "no great gain without some small loss." 
However, If it seems worth while, there is nothing to prevent 
supplementing the charts as drawn by Mr. Barth with skeleton 
charts showing the fiow and relationship of components and 
assembled units. Under certain circumstances it might even 
be justifiable to have two sets of charts — one of the type under 
discussion for the route files and the other drawn along the origi- 
nal lines developed by Taylor and showing all details. 

Mr. Earth's charts do not show In the case of parts made 
especially for the order, the primary material from which they 



*BuUetin of the Taylor Society, Vol. IV, No. 3, June, 1919. In extenuation of this action it may be said 
that those who urged the passage of such legislation were prompted by a fear of abuse growing out of un- 
pleasant experience in the past with piece work and other incentive schemes as administered under the old 
style of management, the unfairness and evils of which Taylor's life work aimed to eliminate from industrial 
life. Fortunately, to-day, there is an increasingly better understanding of scientific management by all 
parties interested in industry. 



EVOLUTION OF THE PROGRESS SHEET 297 

are to be made nor the operations to be performed thereon. 
This information being shown only by the piece route sheets 
which must consequently be made up as the routing progresses 
instead of being copied by a typist from the route chart. 
Whereas, the charts as described previously furnish a complete 
record of the routing and it is unnecessary to file for use in the 
manufacture of possible future lots of an article anything more 
than in route charts; in the case of those developed by Mr. 
Barth, it is necessary to file the piece route sheets which are 
complementary to the charts as well. The parts manufactured 
specially for the order may, however, be distinguished from 
stock parts drawn from worked material stores, this being in- 
dicated by a supplementary letter placed under the worked 
material issue number. For example, the letter F under W 21 
indicates that the parts included, NMSATD and NM3ATF, 
are made for the order and will be found in the custody of the 
" stockkeeper " on the "Floor"; the letter S under W 22 shows 
that parts NM3AT1M and NM3AT2M are to come from 
"Stores." 

The lines of flow are indicated by the letters enclosed in cir- 
cles — for example, on Figure 3 at the extreme right of the sec- 
tional diagram including operations 1NM3AT and 2NM3AT 
is the letter A which also appears at the extreme left of the sec- 
tional diagram covering operation 3NM3AT, indicating that 
the latter continues where the former leaves ojff. It just hap- 
pens in this diagram that the assembling is entirely in pro- 
gressive sequence — that is to say, there are no units in the final 
assembling of the group which may be independently assembled 
at the same time and united by a subsequent operation, all of 
such units having been treated as "divisions" and appearing 
as single items on the chart for the "group." For purposes of 
illustration let us suppose that the lower section on Figure 3 
consisted of two or more parts to be assembled independently, 
and then united by the fourth operation with the preceding 
section. In that case the letter A in a circle would appear not 
only at the right of the first section, but at the right of the second 
as well. It would also appear at the left of the top and bottom 
lines of the section enclosing the operation or operations and 




298 




C O f- *-- _ 

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299 



300 ROUTING 

any miscellaneous parts uniting the two sections. This course 
as has been intimated would only be followed if the units in 
question were comparatively insignificant in the number and 
character of the parts and in the work involved in their assem- 
bling. Otherwise they would be treated and given symbols as 
divisions instead of unsymbolized sections in the group. 

Provision is made for checking to indicate the completion 
and delivery to the Assembling Department of the parts made 
specially for the order as will be seen on Figure 3, following the 
symbols of the components NM3ATD and NM3ATF preceding 
W21. Here a full check mark would be drawn as soon as the 
route sheet for each division showed it to be finished and 
moved. It will be noted that on Figure 5, upon completion of 
the assembling of the Telescope Group, checking upon the chart 
for final assembling of the instrument is called for. There this 
group appears as one of the units or elements making up W68. 

In the case of the parts from "Stores" — ^W22, a half check 
mark would be made opposite each item when the "worked 
material issue" with the move order for its delivery is sent to the 
storeroom and the check mark completed upon the move order 
being returned, showing the material delivered to the assembling 
department. The practice of assignment had not, I believe, been 
adopted at the time these charts were drawn and to provide 
for it, there should be an additional checking space to show 
material on hand and reserved for the order. As it is, the sheet 
could be used, a half check mark indicating material assigned 
and a full check mark its issue and delivery — this would not, 
however, indicate those cases in which the move order and the 
"issue" had been sent out and not yet returned. 

Near the right-hand margin of each sheet will- be seen the 
spaces for recording in the same manner as on the ordinary 
route sheet the progress with respect to each operation and for 
indicating the bench or work-place number at which the opera- 
tion is to be performed. This may be expanded if desired to 
show for the guidance of the Order of Work Supervisor the 
number of hours' work represented by the operation and the 
scheduled date at which he should aim to have the operation or 
series of operations "finished. 



(So- 

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ffARHER AHD SWASEY AZIMUTH IHSTRUMENT 



Part ot Tela 
Order 



inia'AT 



(g)= 



Asaombllng 
Dr. 22-30-; 

4N}J3AT 1 

NMaATli. 
Pit Splaol 



, Splash Scalo Po 



r NM3ATL2L 1: 
im3V3 Pointo. 
,or N'JSATIL 



r NU r UH3AT31, . 



NM3ATL 
HM3ATB 



Dra* Tube Scri 



J 24 



Division NH3ATB 

Aaaemble Lamp Sleeve 
HM3AT2D. Rovolv* Sla 



llcromatsr tJjnp Slev/^ 

IU3AT2B in Draw Tub* 
o anJriocate Sleeve 
r Opatiins9, >n Draw 



<NU3AT 










5NW3AT 










6MM3AT 










7NU3AT 










flir,13AT 











Dr. 22- 

f■nu■3^^ 



■n.? NU3AX 

AJ3eiibl9 ShuUar di- 
tWSUS to Teloscaps Tubj 



NUSATC 
Nil3AT4U 
NM3AT5M 



Asssmbls Dopn 
livlsion mi3ATB to Tol«- 
I Tuba NU3ATT »ith I 
IP Hy3AT4U and 3 Piv. 
r Sjro*3 N)i3AT5M. 



3,100 \imAi.6^=(C) 











, 131) N,13AT6a 




o<er (tUtel) 


H113AT1T 




Oailvordd rrom op 


eratlon 


w 


3NU3ATr. pea? 2) 


{fitted) NH3AT3T 
(Iltled) NU3AT4T 


25 

F 



to Telescope Tub, .111. 4 Prim Hold-U 

°L!o"'blo"?or;"'N.13ATlT to Tele- V=.0ra2AT 6 ^=(B) 
ecjpe Tube NU3AT2T. -Uli Screws / ^-^ 



Fia. 4. Form of Taylor Route Chart Developed by Mr. Carl G. Bahth. Continued from Fig. 3 and Concluded on Fig. 5 



(§> 



T W 9IIU3AT 

\Z7 "^rtt.i 



Cr 



„w 

Hil.3AT8U \\C.f 



I N)J3AT7U and 4 Dra« Tubs 
' Case and Splash Pointer 



10NU3AT Taot Ey« Piafle X 10 Divii 

HWSATf and B/o Piocg X 15 Division 
KU3ATC In Adaptor Diviaiio HJUATA ( 



W mSATD and pa 
25 fitting 31..^ 



ing Hut rniSATlU b 



uK 



12NU3AT 
Kii3ATR J< 
1 9ro\9e\ 



Lt propwly. 

istor Divislor 
1 KX3ATD Vith 



» HU3AT1)M in 



INM3AT ^rn Lena asat In ObJoctW* Cell Vy. 

Holder HiiJATlJ to suit thd dotorninod focal ^i 

length of Objoctlva NUSAflOU; alaa cut / 

thread In sann for Call Ring ra3A?2; as par / 



16rai3AT 

or N113ATJ 
NJI3AT2J 



P Call Holdtr KUSATX; 
iva niSATlOU in Hold- 



a<D 



IffiMT 










-issmi 










uraSAT 










12IAIJAT 










nmJAT 










14rJU3AT 










15M3AT 










ItrajAT 










17KU3AT 











FiQ. 5. Form of Taylor Route Ce.vrt De%xloped by Carl G. Barth. I Continced from Fig. 4 



m- 






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ISIDE POCKET STAYlNCSm-SfJAl 



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ikift oBort poclul opei)ii)^. 5iWf<n«T fewr« 
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aOTHlNCMFRS ASSN Of NY MAY S 1920 p«T W MITCHELL 

MENS' STANDARD COAT MK-S 

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BACK GROUP M|, ,S, 

BODY LININQ GROUP n^-ai 

LEFTtRiqHT SLEEVE QROuPS MK-S^ 
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Fig. 6. Chakt Showwg Divisions and Groups Entering into the Construction of a Co.vt. The Groups Here Shown Appear as Single Items on the Succeeding Sheets Figs. 7 and 8 



EVOLUTION OF THE PROGRESS SHEET 301 

Another excellent feature of Mr. Earth's charts is the manner 
in which he has placed the operation symbols outside of each 
bracket — thus showing at a glance to just what point the assem- 
bling has been brought by preceding operations. 

In addition to the set of charts used by the functional fore- 
men and workmen in the Assembling Department, a set is used 
by the Assembling Floor stockkeeper as described in a previous 
article. This form of chart permits him to check ofip each item 
of material as it is delivered to him and as he locates it in the 
bins or floor storage space which he has reserved for the order, 
taking the place of the duplicate set of assembling route sheets 
or other form of checking list required in addition to the charts. 

While I shall not take the space to point them out, the stu- 
dent of routing will find profitable a careful study of the charts 
used for illustration as they reveal some very interesting and 
helpful fine points — characteristic of the thoroughness of work 
done under Mr. Earth's direction. 

Quite apart from the purposes which we have been discuss- 
ing. Route Charts even in an industry not operated under 
Scientific Management may be found of inestimable value in 
aiding to a visualization and correct understanding of existing 
manufacturing processes. They bring to light as may be done 
in no other way the diflBculties and complications incident to 
manufacture and are a tremendous help to intelligent considera- 
tion and treatment of the many and involved factors met in an 
attempt to solve the problems of an industry. 

The charts Figures 6, 7, and 8, illustrating the making, after 
the parts have been cut, of an ordinary coat, were drawn up with 
this object primarily in view and were not intended in their 
present form to serve the purpose of planning and control except 
as they might do so incidentally. Rather, may they be re- 
garded as one of the preliminary steps in the estabhshment of 
routing. Even a person who has no knowledge of clothing 
manufacture cannot fail to have after studying these charts a 
very clear idea of how a coat is made; probably a better idea 
than many engaged in the industry. 

To one versed in other lines of manufacture the most striking 
thing conveyed by these charts is what seems to be an unreason- 



302 ROUTING 

ably large number of infinitely small operations into wbicli the 
work is divided and the consequent excessive specialization and 
rehandling. Exclusive of the operations performed upon the 
individual pieces previous to assembling, the chart shows that 
there are 93 operations performed at 76 work-places. In other 
words, 76 individuals work on each coat. This makes one 
wonder if, after all, the popular belief that it takes nine tailors 
to make a man may not have some foundation in fact. 

The subdivision of work into such minute operations would 
at once raise in the mind of a management engineer the follow- 
ing questions: 

a. Is there not a disproportionately large expense attached 
to computing and making up the payroll owing to the 
large number of piece work tickets? Is there not great 
opportunity for errors in pay.'^ 

b. Does it not preclude the possibility of accurate cost 
keeping? 

c. Does it not through over-specialization greatly add to 
the diflSculties of maintaining a properly balanced force 
and preclude the degree of flexibility essential to efficient 
plant operation? 

d. Are not operators subjected to too much monotony? 

e. Does it not result in inequalities in piece rates and 
fluctuation in operators' earnings? 

f . Does it not lead to more or less confusion and difficulty 
in keeping track of work in progress and keeping workers 
supplied with work with consequent delay and loss of 
production? 

g. Does it not result in injury to goods as a result of ex- 
cessive re-handling and loss of production from the same 
cause? 

Even supposing that careful investigation caused these ques- 
tions all to be answered in the affirmative, their correction 
might require two or three years to accomplish as they might 
involve established relations with organized labor, physical ar- 
rangement of the plant, handling facilities and methods, etc., 
etc. Last, but not least, their correction entails a change in 
mental attitude on the part of everyone from the president and 



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Fig. 7. "Final Assembling" Operations in the Manufacture of a Coat. This Chart Is Somewhat Differently Drawn and Less Complete Th.yn It Would Appear When Finally 

Worked Out for Purposes of Planning and Control Toward Which It Represents a Stage of Development 




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12; 
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303 



304 ROUTING 

general manager of the company down to tlie workers with re- 
gard to customs, methods, and tradition that have grown up 
through many years. 

Consequently, the routing and the system of planning and 
control might have to pass through several progressive stages 
before reaching the form which might at the outset be considered 
the goal. 



INSPECTION— ORGANIZATION— MANAGEMENT 

Organizing and Managing an Inspection Department 



ORGANIZING AND MANAGING AN INSPECTION 
DEPARTMENT 

BY GEORGE S. RADFORD 

LET US first think of the inspection department as a machine 
or an instrument for producing the control of quahty, 
•^ together with certain secondary duties to be combined 
therewith as a matter of economy. Then, if you please, we 
may consider the organization of the inspection department as 
comparable to the design of the machine, and the administration 
or management of the inspection department as comparable to 
the operation of the machine thus designed. 

Organization develops through the following process, which 
may be analyzed into three elements, namely : 

1st. There is a union or grouping of individuals for a com- 
mon purpose; the necessity for organizing arises from this fact, 
whereupon there begins: 

2nd. A division or distribution of the work necessary to 
accomphsh the purpose, so that each group of individuals per- 
forms the work allotted to it with undivided authority and in- 
dividual responsibility. This division of duties tends to become 
more complex as the number of persons involved increases or 
as the scope of the work broadens, and the resulting interde- 
pendence demands. 

3rd. A coordinating of the work of the separate parts or 
groups, in order to secure cooperate action, and thus to weld 
them into one coherent whole, so that all work harmoniously 
toward the common objective. 

Organization begins with the first of these conditions, is de- 
veloped by the second, and is completed and perfected by the 
last. The higher the type of organization, the more intricate is 
the distribution and division of labor, and this fact, in turn, 
calls for better coordination, together with closer and stronger 
cooperation. 

307 



308 THE MANAGEMENT OF INSPECTION 

With these general observations as a guide we may proceed 
to design an organization for the inspection department, re- 
membering always that we are designing with men as our ma- 
terial, hence the design must conform to the capabilities of the 
men that are available, and furthermore it must be suited to 
the conditions imposed by the character of the work to be 
performed. 

The discussion that follows applies, as will be noted, to the 
organization of an inspection department for a large factory 
doing high-grade, interchangeable manufacturing, but the same 
principles apply in simpler cases, and the organization may be 
readily and suitably simplified for such situations. 

THE CHIEF INSPECTOR 

It is almost begging the question to say that if you have the 
right man at the head of the inspection department, your 
worries about the organization and management of that depart- 
ment are over. But what type of man is called ioi? The posi- 
tion is one of trust, hence character is an indispensable. Good 
judgment is requisite, not only the judgment that flows from 
"mechanical sense" and skilled ability as an engineer, but also 
plain "horse-sense." In addition, the man must be an execu- 
tive of no mean ability. 

Many persons have been so accustomed to regarding inspec- 
tion as one of the secondary features of manufacturing, that 
they fail to realize what complex and extensive organizations 
have been evolved for the inspection departments of large fac- 
tories. It is by no means an uncommon thing nowadays to 
find an inspector for every ten to twenty workmen, and the 
proportion may be much higher. In the Wahl Company, of 
Chicago, which manufactures, among other things, the "Ever- 
sharp" pencil, the proportion of inspectors is 1 to 8.6 workers.* 
In the S. K. F. Ball Bearing Co.'s plant at Hartford, where every 
operation is 100 per cent, inspection, 27 per cent, of all the 
productive workers are employed in the inspection department.! 



*Furnished through the courtesy of C. A. Prary, General Manager. 

tCourtesy of R. F. Runge, General Factory Manager of S. K. F. Industries, Inc. 



ORGANIZATION OF INSPECTION 309 

Under difficult war conditions, the inspection department of one 
of the munition plants reached a total figure of 2,200 employees, 
and possibly there were larger inspection forces in other plants. 
But even under normal conditions, it will be recognized from 
the above figures that the head of the inspection department 
has an executive job of no mean size. The duty is very greatly 
enlarged and complicated, moreover, by reason of the fact that 
the inspection department is not concentrated into one definitely 
bounded shop, like the various production departments. On 
the contrary, its work reaches into nearly every part of the 
factory, and its personnel is widely scattered in consequence. 
The character of the work is at least as diversified as the 
processing, which fact still further complicates the problem; 
for the inspection force will have one group of workers in 
the wood- working department, for example; while at the 
other end of the plant it will have another group engaged 
in the inspection of metal parts made to standards of accuracy 
so precise as often to split thousandths of an inch. Therefore 
the Chief Inspector should be generally familiar with all 
shop processes, rather than a speciahst in a hmited number of 
them. 

Concurrently with selecting a man to take charge of the 
inspection department there arises the problem of outlining 
what this department is to include. Conversely, the amount 
of work that it is expedient to include will determine how 
big a man should be selected to head the work. The two 
things always go together, and the resulting solution is usually 
a compromise. The duties of the inspection department 
obviously will comprise a number of things that are not 
inspection, not even speaking strictly; but they will all be 
related to inspection, in the sense that it is economical to 
include them, and often wise to do so, in order to secure a 
more complete control of quality. 

In the first place, there will be the separate inspection forces 
for each main group of the factory's work, as in the case of an 
automobile factory making both trucks and passenger cars. 
Each of these main groups will be subdivided into an inspection 
force for each shop, or smaller factory unit,- including the assem- 



310 THE MANAGEMENT OF INSPECTION 

bling shops. In addition to this inherent duty we may list 
the following: 

(a) raw-material inspection, including the necessary labo- 
ratories, chemical and physical; 

(b) heat-treatment inspection, including the metallurgical 
and metallographic laboratories; 

(c) tool-inspection, especially if the factory maintains a 
tool-making shop; 

(d) gage-checking and the verification of measuring stand- 
ards — all in close cooperation with the chief engineer; 

(e) general supervision of the assembling department, in 
some instances, where inspection in this department is 
of unusual value in guiding the work of the parts- 
making-shops; 

(f) general supervision of the factory salvage department, 
when it is specially desirable to safeguard production 
from the return of defective work into flow. 

The inspection of machine tools and similar factory equipment 
and buildings and their appurtenances has not been included 
as a possible assignment of the inspection department, for the 
evident reason that this constitutes, with the maintenance of 
such things, the principal duty of the works engineer. It will 
be carried out by the latter with due regard to the fact that 
every department in the plant will be "on his trail" if he over- 
looks anything that requires attention. 

The general test for deciding whether a particular branch of 
factory endeavor should be included in the inspection depart- 
ment will be simply this — "Will the Chief Inspector handle it 
to the advantage of the entire plant or not.^^ " — which, of course, 
depends, among other things, upon who and what the Chief In- 
spector is. 

Granting that you have settled upon the man and his job, 
the least important question of all is what you are going to call 
him, for the greater one's experience in factory work, the less 
will be the emphasis placed upon titles. Undoubtedly, the 
term in widest use to designate the head of the inspection de- 
partment is that of Chief Inspector. It has grown up in much 
the same way as the title of Chief Engineer, and it is possibly 



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312 THE MANAGEMENT OF INSPECTION 

just as well to retain its use; although there are many organiza- 
tions in which the strict following of the plan used in the general 
factory organization chart would result in the more definite 
title of Manager of Inspection, or possibly that of Director of 
Inspection. This is a matter, however, as just stated, that is of 
little weight. But there is one of marked importance which 
should not be overlooked for a moment if the control of quality 
is to be assured — the Chief Inspector should report directly to, 
and only to, the highest executive authority in the manage- 
ment. 

THE LINE ORGANIZATION 

In outlining the organization under the Chief Inspector's 
jurisdiction, it is believed that the best result will be obtained by 
a combination of line and staff, as in the case of the general 
organization of the factory itself. The line organization will 
consist of the usual executive heads of the different groups of 
workers; i. e., general-foremen-inspectors; foremen-inspectors; 
subforemen or crib bosses, and so on, making up the "chain of 
command " through which instructions will pass from the Chief 
Inspector to the individual inspectors at the bench. 

It is to be understood that the Chief Inspector's Staff will 
consist of a few carefully selected specialists who have no execu- 
tive authority over the line executives other than that which 
naturally belongs to them by reason of the moral effect of their 
close association with the head of the department. 

It is generally conceded that no executive should have more 
than a limited number of subordinates reporting directly to 
him. This number varies with circumstances, but should not 
exceed ten or twelve at the outside in work of this kind, as there 
is such a volume of small questions requiring prompt settle- 
ment, to say nothing of the demands on the Chief Inspector's 
time for continuous constructive work. Therefore in a concern 
making several lines of product there should be an inspection 
superintendent (or a general foreman-inspector) in general 
charge of each such group of shops. The principal assistant 
to the Chief Inspector may very well be one of these superin- 
tendents. The above chart should have any other depart- 



ORGANIZATION OF INSPECTION 313 

ments that may be assigned to the care of the Chief Inspector 
(such as the laboratories for raw material inspection, the gage 
checking dept., etc., added, as separate main divisions, on the 
line "a-b." 

The line "c-d" of the chart provides for a foreman-inspector 
in charge of each production department, and since inspection 
is best performed when strictly specialized according to classes 
or kinds of work, it is suggested that there be a separate foreman 
for each different kind of production department in the group, 
even if this results in considerable disparity in the sizes of the 
forces reporting to the various foremen-inspectors. Thus the 
foreman-inspector of the wood-working department in a small- 
arms factory may have several shop floors under his care, while 
the heat-treatment department's foreman-inspector has only 
one. In other words, the inspection organization should par- 
allel the production organization in this respect, rather than 
attempt to equalize the jobs by combining small departments 
under one head. 

It is specially essential in inspection work that foreman-in- 
spectors and their more important assistants have understudies 
designated. This arises from the fact that the personnel of 
the inspection department's supervisory force must be relied 
upon, to a large extent, to see that standards of quality do not 
shift. This statement holds good even when every care has 
been taken already, to fix the working standards as definitely 
as possible. In the work of keeping standards from shifting, 
the inspection foremen accumulate a large body of knowledge 
in the form of small details, which cannot be quickly passed 
on from man to man. They must be absorbed from contact 
with the work. It is, therefore, very important that the or- 
ganization provide for continuity in this respect, so that what 
might be called the complete standard will be carried along from 
shift to shift, and the gaps caused by the absence of any mem- 
ber of the supervisory force, safely bridged. 

If a foreman-inspector has a department which comprises 
several floors or shops, he will need an assistant in each shop. 
This man's duties, in addition to maintaining discipline, will 
involve a continuous checking-up of the inspection work going 



314 THE MANAGEMENT OF INSPECTION 

on in the shop, deciding doubtful eases arising principally in the 
re-inspection of rejected work, overseeing the care of gages, and 
attending to the orderly storage of work in process. Each in- 
spection crib should have a working inspection boss — that is to 
say, one of the ablest inspectors working in the crib should be 
designated to assume general charge of all the work going on in 
the crib. The working force in each crib will consist generally 
of inspectors, counters, and a common laborer or two, especially 
if the boxes of work are heavy and if the flow of work is rapid. 
The counters are, of course, engaged in the work of checking 
up the quantity of work performed on operations that are not 
inspected, and are listed separately merely to indicate that this 
work should be performed at a lower rate of pay from inspection 
proper. 

In this connection it may be noted that a misunderstanding 
sometimes arises when the employment department hires men 
as inspectors, and the inspection department subsequently 
places them in central inspection cribs where they may have 
to do more physical handling and hfting of boxes of work than 
they do inspecting. The individual thinks he is going to be 
an inspector, but finds diflSculty in distinguishing between his 
work and that of a shop laborer. It is suggested that this 
trouble may be lessened by creating the position of assistant 
inspector, as an intermediate step between common labor and 
bench inspectors. If the employment department is careful 
to make clear to the applicant what his duties are to be, there is 
less chance of a misunderstanding later on. 

Central inspection is usually reinforced by a small group of 
floor inspectors. These men should be of a higher grade than 
the bench inspectors in the crib, and probably even more so 
than the working foreman of the crib, since their duties are 
more independently performed. Consequently, they should 
report directly to the assistant foreman in charge of inspection 
in the shop, and not to the crib foreman. 

THE CHIEF inspector's STAFF 

At the beginning of the preceding section of this chapter 
mention was made that the Chief Inspector's staff should have 



ORGANIZATION OF INSPECTION 315 

no executive authority other than that which accrues to them 
by reason of their close association with the Chief Inspector. 
The latter fact will naturally give them all the prestige their 
work requires. The staff organization should be laid out along 
functional lines so as to provide a general service for the help 
and guidance of the hue executives. It must secure also, for 
the assistance of the Chief Inspector, an inspection of inspection, 
without destroying the individual responsibility or dividing 
the authority of the Chief Inspector's subordinate executives, 
which is one of the greatest dangers in large organizations of 
combined Hue and staff type. 

Thus each staff assistant will be a carefully selected specialist, 
combining the work of an instructor in his Hue of work with 
that of assisting the Chief Inspector in checking up his assigned 
part of the work throughout the entire department. In Hsting, 
just below, the staff duties to be performed, it is to be under- 
stood that some of them may be combined under one individual 
where the vohime of work warrants it : 

(1st) Personnel, including the investigation of questions 
affecting pay, promotion, discharge, assignment of new em- 
ployees, etc. This work usually requires the entire time of one 

man. . 

(2nd) Follow-up of technical instructions from the Chief 
Inspector's office to the inspection force, including checking up 
the adherence to prescribed standards. 

(3rd) Care, use, and custody of gages, including making sure 
that all gages pass through the gage-checking department as 

scheduled. 

(4th) Analysis of trouble reports from the foremen-inspectors, 
especially those relatmg to technical difficulties encountered in 
the parts-making shops and in the assembling department. 
This work includes the further investigation of some of the 
reports, also seeing that the more important ones are placed 
before the Chief Inspector to bring to the attention of the proper 
authorities in the general factory organization. 

(5th) Liaison duty with the production engineer to see that 
the inspection department is collecting production data for him 
in a satisfactory manner. 



316 THE MANAGEMENT OF INSPECTION 

In addition, the Chief Inspector frequently has small techni- 
cal matters requiring the services of a junior engineer to con- 
duct the preliminary investigation. It is suggested that such 
men be taken from time to time from the rank and file of the 
inspection force, or from the laboratories. This practice will 
help broaden the men in question, and will accomplish the pur- 
pose just as well as if they were permanently assigned to the 
staff of the Chief Inspector's office. 

THE INSPECTION DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL 

Probably you have noticed that little has been said as yet 
about the qualities to be sought for, in choosing men for the 
duties of foremen-inspectors, their assistants, and the working 
inspectors. The problem is not one of choosing the kind of 
men you want, but rather one of making the best use of the 
men that are available. There is "history" in the statement, 
as more than one Chief Inspector can testify from sad experi- 
ence in recent years. 

The men who take employment in the inspection department 
may be classed along general lines as those who have previous 
experience in technical matters, and those who have not. If the 
experience of the former class has resulted in a self-sufficient 
knowledge, they should be replaced by men of the class who 
have no such technical experience, and know that they haven't 
it; because you must have inspectors who will follow your stand- 
ards without modifying them in the light of their previous ex- 
perience. In other words, obedience to orders is the prime de- 
sideratum. 

In assigning duties in the inspection department organiza- 
tion, therefore, it is necessary to place the personnel so as to 
grade the amount of discretion to be allowed in matters requir- 
ing the exercise of judgment. One might say that the amount 
or quantity of judgment to be applied by any individual mem- 
ber of the inspection force should be decreased as we go down 
the line from foreman-inspector to the inspector working in the 
crib. 

The inspector applying gages at the bench, or inspecting fin- 
ish as to sample, should be the kind of person who has reason- 



ORGANIZATION OF INSPECTION 317 

ably good eyesight and tactile sense; but more tban this he must 
be temperamentally suited to doing exactly what he is told to 
do. This will consist in sorting the work he is inspecting into 
work that is clearly according to standard, work that is clearly 
not according to standard, and work about which he is doubtful; 
leaving the decision as to the latter class of work to his imme- 
diate superior. As stated before, this process implies reason- 
ably definite standards of quality in the first place. 

The floor inspector should be of an entirely different class. 
He has the important duty of first-piece inspection before he 
authorizes a machine to begin a run of work. In addition, he 
may be given the right to order a machine stopped if the work 
is not to his satisfaction. This calls for good judgment backed 
up by practical experience, hence the floor inspector is usually 
a first-class machinist to whom the title and duties of inspector 
may make an appeal, or who views this work as a step in the 
direction of a foremanship of some sort. 

Practically every large inspection department possesses a 
unique characteristic, and a very happy one. It is a veritable 
gold mine of men possessing unusual native ability and good 
character, but lacking experience in factory work. Every once 
in awhile, and for various reasons which do not matter, some 
man decided to make a radical change in his work. lEs very 
unacquaintance with factory life may be the source of his 
desire to try it, so he presently appears at the factory 
employment oflSce. Having no knowledge of machinery, he 
hesitates to attempt machine operation, even if the way is 
made easy for him to acquire the necessary sldll; but the title 
of inspector may make a special appeal both as a dignified 
occupation and as an opportunity to study manufacturing 
methods at close range. 

This is one explanation of why you find such men in the 
inspection department . The answer to where you will find them 
is, obviously, at the bench, usually working quietly but never- 
theless with their eyes open to what is going on around them 
in the shop. Unless the foreman is an unusually human sort 
of executive, he will fail to see the possibihties in these subordi- 
nates. Consequently, it usually is up to someone higher up to 



318 THE MANAGEMENT OF INSPECTION 

find such men, and to see that they are given the chance they 
hoped for when they entered your employment. 

The circumstances just referred to may be well known to 
you already. It came to my attention for the first time a few 
years ago, in the course of reorganizing an inspection service of 
some two thousand employees, where an excessive labor turn- 
over in this department was considered to be one of the primary 
reasons for defective control of quality. The problem of reduc- 
ing the turnover was attacked by direct action — the Chief In- 
spector had a personal talk with every man entering or leaving 
the department. The experience was somewhat arduous, but 
this was more than offset by the results, which were felt almost 
immediately. 

One foreman-inspector, especially, complained regularly and 
frequently that the men supplied him were "no good." The 
foreman himself was a man of long experience in the business, 
and by reason of this fact seemed unable to adjust himself to 
circumstances under which he must train the men supplied him 
rather than expect to find them already skilled in their work. 
Most of the men leaving his department gave every reason but 
the right one for quitting, probably in the factory spirit of being 
good losers. Presently, however, a man appeared in the Chief 
Inspector's ofBce on his way out. Character and personality 
were written plainly on his face. Under pressure he told the 
story, and in a detail that showed a keen grasp of conditions. 

His story, briefly, was this: After leaving a semi-technical 
college course, he had taken a political job, and by an unlucky 
swing of the political pendulum, about fifteen years later, found 
himself under the necessity of seeking other means of support- 
ing his family. So he turned to this particular factory because 
he had heard of possible opportunities there. It looked to him 
like a fresh start with good chances for a satisfactory career. 
After three months at the bench as an inspector he confessed 
that he knew little more about the intricacies of the business 
than when he started. What he did know, he had been forced 
to dig out by himself without encouragement from above. On 
the other hand, he knew what was basically wrong in that shop 
better than the foreman-inspector himself. 



ORGANIZATION OF INSPECTION 319 

This experience was the cause of starting a school for such 
men under an old foreman who possessed a heart as well as a 
head, and who passed on enough of his practical knowledge to 
enable his pupils to qualify as tool-setters and gang-bosses. 
After this, promotion was up to the individual, but he was al- 
ways encouraged to bring his problems back to the foreman- 
instructor for helpful advice. The man whose case was just 
referred to became assistant superintendent of a large produc- 
tion department in about six months from the time that he was 
ready to give up in disgust and discouragement. 

Several other men found, or perhaps I should say discovered, 
in the same way, were developed into excellent foremen instead 
of being lost to the organization. All of which goes to show 
that while the individual unit of an organization may be part of 
a machine in one sense, he nevertheless is a man, with all of the 
perfectly natural limitations and variable potentialities of a 
human being. I venture to say that there is nothing in the 
entire work of organizing and running your inspection depart- 
ment (not to mention the rest of the factory) that will yield so 
large a return, both in actual accomplishment and in personal 
satisfaction, as the study of the men themselves. 

(a) The Task 

The chief end to be sought in the management of the inspec- 
tion department is to obtain a firm control of quality by holding 
the work to definite, pre-determined standards; and to accom- 
plish this with the maximum of economy. The task presents 
at least two essential differences from the management of a 
production department of commensurate size: 

(1st) The working force is widely scattered and the work 
unusually varied. Coordination is diflBcult. 

(2nd) The pay of inspectors is nearly always low in propor- 
tion to their responsibilities, with attendant difficulty in attract- 
ing and keeping the right kind of labor. 

(6) Coordination 

The first step in coordinating the work of the inspection de- 
partment is to see that the Chief Inspector's office is located as 



320 THE MANAGEMENT OF INSPECTION 

nearly as may be in the center of the plant. The inspection 
force is concerned with every manufacturing process going on 
in the factory, and with many of the general service depart- 
ments. It reaches into every part of the plant. Questions 
arise every hour of the day that call for settlement by personal 
conference with the Chief Inspector or some member of his 
staff. Much time and effort will be saved by lessening the 
average distance to the point of trouble. Furthermore, it is 
greatly to be desired that both production and inspection de- 
partment executives feel that the Chief Inspector is one with 
themselves in close contact with the work, as well as being 
readily accessible to them. His job is not in the front office, 
but rather is it in the very heart of the work. 

In coordinating the efforts of his own executives, the Chief 
Inspector will find use for all of the ordinary devices of good 
management. He will find conferences with his superintend- 
ents and foremen of special value. 

Incidentally, the main purpose of the conferences will be 
obtained more surely if the Chief Inspector does not do all the 
talking. The men in the room will be brought together better 
if they come to accept the conference as an opportunity to 
obtain the help of several minds in working out their immediate 
and most baffling problems. The Chief can soon develop good 
fellowship and a common interest in the work of the entire in- 
spection department by a little adroit steering. 

A conference with his immediate subordinates once a week 
will be sufficient under ordinary circumstances, but it is sug- 
gested that this practice be supplemented by an occasional 
conference with the inspection executives of each inspection 
group, for the principal purpose of developing a closer personal 
contact and acquaintance between the subordinate executives 
and the chief of their department. For the inspection depart- 
ment should be in harmony with the Chief's policies and there- 
fore quick to react to his instructions as they are passed down 
the line. Such flexibility of control will be strengthened more 
certainly by personal acquaintance; and by frequent contact, 
the personality of the head of the department will be reflected 
by the department as a whole. 



ORGANIZATION OF INSPECTION 321 

It will be found to be an excellent plan, in coordinating the 
various units, if each foreman and stail employee is supplied 
with a simple letter-size binder for keeping a file of department 
bulletins. These bulletins should be issued from time to time 
from the Chief Inspector's office as a quick means of conveying 
his executive instructions to the entire organization, defining his 
policies, and supplying technical information. The book 
should be kept on the foreman's desk for the sub-foremen to 
read, and it should be the duty of one of the staff assistants to 
question the sub-foremen occasionally, so as to encoiu-age them 
to keep in touch with the plans and policies of the department. 
The scheme will not work unless it is closely followed up, but it 
can be made a most potent force in keeping men "on their toes" 
and working harmoniously, especially if the bulletins or in- 
struction notices are explained and discussed in conference. 

Finally, it is in the general work of helping to keep the entire 
department pulling together smoothly that the members of 
the Chief Inspector's staff will justify their employment. To 
make their work most effective, the Chief should encourage 
them to confer with him. Whenever practicable they should 
make their headquarters in the Chief's office. 

(c) Reduction of the Turnover 

No matter how thoroughly standards of quality are specified, 
there is a certain amount of incompleteness that is bridged only 
by the accumulated experience of the inspector. Then, again, it 
requires a varying length of time for any inspector to acquire 
the technique necessary to apply a given gage with the desired 
accuracy and skill; or to satisfactorily conduct any given in- 
spection operation. Because of these reasons it is important 
that the personnel of the inspection force be as permanent or 
more so than that of other departments if standards of quality are 
to be prevented from fluctuating. This is in addition to the usual 
loss in quantity of work performed due to excessive labor turn- 
over in any class of work. The disparity in pay already referred 
to is a disturbing element; and the turnover in a large inspec- 
tion department is likely to be unduly high in consequence. 

Obviously, the primary action to take in order to stabilize 



322 THE MANAGEMENT OF INSPECTION 

conditions is to employ people for inspection work who are 
most likely to take to it kindly. For example, the inspection 
work is usually less strenuous then the operation of manufactur- 
ing machines; which indicates the employment of people 
(frequently women) who cannot stand the physical strain of the 
heavier production work, and know it. 

When a relatively high degree of experience and skill are re- 
quisite, as in the case of floor inspectors, there should be assur- 
ance that the inspection force will share in promotions to assis- 
tant foremanships in the production departments, so that the 
inspector has something to look forward to when higher vacan- 
cies are to be filled. 

Then, again, resort must be had to every possible non-financial 
incentive, since the easier way of the direct financial incentive 
is barred. That is to say, in brief, that the inspection depart- 
ment must be handled so that it will come to be recognized as 
an excellent place in which to work; and, more important yet, 
a force that a man should be proud to belong to. The work 
can be made pleasant if the inspector is treated by his executives 
with just a little more friendliness and courtesy than is custom- 
ary in shops. I do not mean to imply, however, that his job 
should be made a soft one. On the contrary, the spirit of the 
organization, and hence the dignity of the work, will be greatly 
enhanced by stressing the value of character, by cultivating a 
pride of achievement in terms of accuracy, and by a rigorous 
demand for personal responsibility. But all of this should be 
tempered by a very obvious interest, on the part of the Chief 
Inspector and his assistants, in the personal welfare and interest 
of everyone in the department. If this takes only the form of 
an evident willingness to help the other fellow to help himself, 
the object sought will be attained. All parties gain: the 
executive by having a more contented and efficient force, and 
the subordinate by having a conscious increase in satisfaction 
in his work, through the knowledge that his value to himself 
and to others is increasing. 

(d) Wages and Working Hours 
Owing to the fact that it rarely is practicable to measure the 



ORGANIZATION OF INSPECTION 323 

work performed by inspectors, it is the general practice to pay 
them on the day- wage or hourly-wage basis. It frequently 
occurs that the inspection work must be performed in a shop 
where the machine-operators are paid on a piece-work or similar 
system based upon the quantity of work performed. Hence it is 
not unusual to find a situation arising where ordinary machine- 
operators are paid at rates considerably in excess of the men who 
inspect their work; and under such circumstances, there is 
more than the usual diflSculty in keeping the inspection force 
in a contented frame of mind. 

The easiest apparent cure is to raise the wage scale for in- 
spectors, but that way is not open, in spite of the fact that they 
perform work that is worth enough to warrant a higher scale 
in many cases. An economy in total cost might conceivably 
be attained thereby; but in nearly every plant inspection is 
regarded as a necessary but regrettable and non-productive 
expense. Consequently, the Chief Inspecior is faced with the 
problem of doing the best he can with a strictly limited pay- 
roll, and therefore is forced to use the lowest rate of wages 
that will keep him supplied with a grade of labor that will do. 

As a result the Chief Inspector and his foremen will be be- 
sieged with requests for raises in pay, and a relative degree of 
contentment can be obtained only by having a definite rate of 
promotion with graded rates of pay based upon length of ser- 
vice, in combination with efficient work. This, I believe, has 
been found to be the best solution under the day-wage system 
for all kinds of work. I have seen the labor turnover actually 
decreased by the flat announcement that no increase in pay 
would be considered for sixty days; and this, in the face of in- 
sistent demands for raises. In this instance, however, there had 
been no systematic arrangement for graded increases, so that 
the practice of asking for raises had grown up, with the net result 
that the granting of one request only served to encourage others. 

It is believed that inspectors working on small pieces can be 
paid piece-work to advantage in many more cases than would 
ordinarily be supposed; but this system, obviously, can only be 
used to advantage when the work warrants a check inspection, 
or inspection of inspection by sampling all work after the piece- 



324 THE MANAGEMENT OF INSPECTION 

working inspectors have gone over it. When this can be done 
without sacrificing quahty, the usual economy inherent in the 
piece-work system will be experienced, although the individual 
worker makes more money. Inspectors employed on piece- 
work, however, must be penalized strictly by non-payment for 
any boxes of work found to contain defective parts; and, less 
heavily, for the rejection of good parts. 

Another potential source of discontent arises from the fact 
that some of the inspection force, at least, should be on hand 
both before and after the regular working hours. It is espe- 
cially important that the inspection cribs be ready to issue work 
before the beginning of work in the shop, in fact, sufficiently 
early to see that all machine operators are supplied with work 
well ahead of time. Otherwise, the production force have a 
valid cause for complaining that they are delayed in getting 
to work promptly. Then again, it is often desirable to clean 
up the inspection of work that is turned in at quitting time. 
"When choke-points occur this may be imperative. The sugges- 
tion is offered that much unnecessary hard feeling can be 
stopped by a definite understanding, at the time of employment, 
that the working hours of inspectors will be staggered a little 
out of phase with the regular shop working hours. The total 
time can be adjusted by allowing a longer time for lunch and 
by a reasonable leniency in days off. The time outside of regu- 
lar hours need not exceed fifteen minutes in most cases, so that 
adjustments of total time are not difficult. Needless to say, 
overtime should be avoided with care, as both costly and con- 
ducive to the creation of needless overtime. 

{e) The Cost of Inspection 

Most Chief Inspectors will agree that the average foreman- 
inspector, by reason of his being a foreman-inspector and con- 
currently with his assumption of that duty, at once acquires an 
unusual ability to ask for more inspectors, and for better in- 
spectors, and for more gages. Now as all of these things cost 
money, which is a relatively rare commodity in so far as the 
Chief Inspector's disbursements are permitted to go, some other 
way out must be found. For example, the foreman may be 



ORGANIZATION OF INSPECTION 



325 



shown that "more men" does not necessarily mean a correspond- 
ing increase in the amount of work performed. Thus in Fig. 2 
(in which the abscissae represent the total number of men in 
the working force, and the ordinates represent the total amount 
of work performed) it is not unnatural to assume that output 
will increase in direct proportion to the number of people en- 
gaged in the work, as shown by the line OA. 

As a matter of fact, a little consideration will show that the 
curve O B C is more nearly true for any given job; for 




Number of men employed 



Fig. 2. 

This chart demonstrates that there are definite limits, for a given output of an in- 
spected product, control] ing the number of inspectors that may be profitably employed 

the reason that a point B is soon reached where additional 
help only interferes with the people already at work, until 
at C the shop is so crowded that no one can move, and the 
output returns to zero again. Hence it follows that for any 
given output O D there are two limiting numbers of men, 
D E and D F, It is the painful lot of the inspection de- 
partment to work a little inside of the number of men indicated 
by the point E {i. e., at P). This may not be entirely convinc- 
ing to your foremen, but it at least shows them what they are 
up against in asking for more men. 

Rather than more men, then, it is a matter of increasing the 
eflSciency of the allowable force; at which point, it may be noted 
as a fortunate circumstance, that inspection work lends itself 
readily to very marked economies in the way of greater output 
per man, through the appUcation of many of the devices of 



326 THE MANAGEMENT OF INSPECTION 

modern methods of management. This is especially true of 
bench inspection, under the conditions of central inspection. 
The first of these is a carefully planned use of sampling; so that 
no more work i? done than is necessary. Next comes the mat- 
ter of instruction in the work of inspection, to see that each in- 
spector knows just what he is trying to do, and the quickest 
and easiest way to do it. There are so many operations in 
inspection work that seem very simple that there is a strong 
tendency to show a new employee what he has to do in a very 
general sort of way, and then leave him to his own devices. 
The application of a gage or two, or a viewing for surface finish 
appears to be transparently easy; but the mental attitude that 
views any piece of work as simple is a danger signal, for it is time 
to recall that time and motion study began with handling pig- 
iron and shoveling earth. It is not unlikely, in fact, that their 
most striking economies are realized in the most simple opera- 
tions. 

The instruction of inspectors is a staff job — that is, it should 
be, if the best results are to be obtained. Perhaps this flows 
from the proverbial truth that work that is left to everybody 
is rarely done right. It should be combined with the work of 
one of the technical men on the Chief Inspector's staff, as it 
fits in well with a critical examination of each inspection point 
taken seriatim and carried on in accordance with a programme 
somewhat as follows : 

(1st) Is the measuring device, gage, or what not, such that 
true results can be obtained .^^ 

(2d) Is the gage being applied so as to obtain true results.'' 

(3d) Is the work being done in a way to secure the greatest 
economy of inspection .^^ 

The first two questions are vital, naturally, since money spent 
upon inspection is worse than wasted if the results are not close 
to the truth. The third question opens up the whole field of 
possible increase of efficiency. Frequently, in fact very fre- 
quently, the most cursory use of motion study reveals large 
possibilities for saving time in inspection, especially if the in- 
spector considers himself under the necessity of hurrying. The 
most frequent loss arises from improper placing of the boxes of 



ORGANIZATION OF INSPECTION 327 

work, so that unnecessary and crossing motions are made. 
Then there are the losses that arise from awkward posture and 
clumsy holding of the gage. It sometimes happens that a 
separate support for the gage will help matters by leaving both 
hands free. If so, then attention should be given to seeing that 
the support is flexible enough to permit automatic adjustment 
of a close limit gage to the work. 

Right here is a good place to mention the big saving that 
such a staff assistant can secure by spreading the message of 
careful handling of both work and gages. Precision instru- 
ments and fine work call for a certain amount of gentleness, of 
the type that a certain French fencing master referred to, when 
he said "Hold your foil as you would a bird, firmly, so it will not 
escape; gently, so it will not be hurt." I recall an experience in 
a munition plant, where a room full of foreign help was engaged 
in the inspection of high-grade work. The gages were applied 
with such enthusiasm, and highly finished parts were thrown 
into tote boxes with such vigor, that the anvil chorus would not 
have had a chance to be heard. The ordinary bench-inspector 
or machine-operator in our larger factories will easily fall into 
almost as bad habits, unless he is cautioned from time to time. 

Turning now to one of the greatest economies in inspection, 
especially in central inspection as previously stated: it is not 
necessary (except in certain kinds of floor inspection) to have 
mechanics skilled in the work of inspection. In fact, it is quite 
inadvisable to employ such people when you are trying to limit 
the use of judgment and to hold to a close standard. But the 
employment of unskilled help again indicates the necessity of 
providing adequate instruction; not alone by teaching, which 
always should be a large factor in management, but also by 
providing accessible reference data, such as samples, large-scale 
drawings with gaging points distinctly marked, gage instruction 
cards, and so on. It should not be necessary to mention, except 
for completeness, how important it is to begin this educational 
work as soon as the new inspector is employed. There are 
obvious advantages in "catching them young." The work 
will be done more certainly, and probably better and quicker, if 
it is followed up by a staff assistant. 



328 THE MANAGEMENT OF INSPECTION 

(/) Female Labor for Inspection Work 

In speaking of the use of unskilled labor as a measure of "econ- 
omy in inspection, the question of using female labor deserves 
serious consideration. In fact, if female labor is carefully se- 
lected with reference to the adaptability of the individual to 
the class of work involved, it will be found that women are able 
to do many more kinds of inspection work than might be sup- 
posed, also that they almost invariably perform it better. You 
will be able to secure a higher grade of tactile sense and skill 
for the same investment, together with a stricter compliance 
with your instructions in the matter of holding to standards. 
The advantage to be gained in greater contentment of the 
inspection force alone makes the employment of women highly 
desirable whenever possible. 

It is realized that many factory executives hesitate to intro- 
duce women into the inspection department in shops where none 
but men are employed at the machines, and this for reasons 
quite apart from their suitability for such inspection work. It 
may be stated as a fact, however, that the feeling is not war- 
ranted, if proper measures are taken at the start to maintain 
discipline; for the presence of women may be made to secure 
an elevation of the tone of the entire establishment. To do 
this requires that the subordinate inspection bosses be chosen 
from among the most dignified inspectors, and that they be duly 
impressed with the importance of their work. It should be 
made a fixed rule also that questions affecting inspection be 
taken up by the production bosses with the male foremen 
only. 

In a large factory employing at the time none but men in the 
shops, female help to the number of several hundred were intro- 
duced into the inspection department in the endeavor to stabil- 
ize labor turnover in the department as well as to secure better 
control of the technique of inspection. The class of labor in 
the plant was such that the management realized that matters 
might arise that would be reported to them more certainly, 
and perhaps more easily and gracefully, if the women could carry 
their troubles to a woman rather than to a man; for it was 
recognized that a high standard of character in the inspection 



ORGANIZATION OF INSPECTION 329 

department was worth a great deal in controlling the quality 
of the factory output. With this in mind, one of the secretaries 
in the main office, who had been a working-girl and who 
possessed rare good judgment combined with a very human sym- 
pathy for her associates, was asked to take the time to become 
acquainted with at least one or two girls in each inspection 
group. The plan proved to be an unqualified success, although 
it resulted in separating a foreman or two and a few of the in- 
spection force from the organization very shortly after the facts 
began to come in and investigations were made. It was not 
very long, however, before that particular plant achieved the 
reputation among working people of being the safest factory 
in the state to which to send their daughters for employment. 

Women as inspectors will be found to work faster than men, 
especially if their strength is conserved by providing men to do 
the heavier work of lifting and moving tote-boxes. The 
amount saved is sufficient to pay for the greater comforts in the 
way of chairs, recreation and rest rooms, etc., that must be 
provided for women. It should be remembered, however, that 
women inspectors should be required to adapt their dress to 
secure personal safety, by wearing caps and suitably protected 
sleeves, as in the case of female machine-operators; for inspect- 
ors are occasionally passing near machinery in motion. 

From the technical standpoint, there are many kinds of work 
not ordinarily inspected by women that could be so handled to 
advantage, even in the case of comparatively heavy pieces. 
This requires that the individual be chosen for the job and given 
a preliminary course of training. The inspection of the interior 
of rifle barrels has been performed by women to great advantage 
although it is technically difficult, and the physical work of 
holding them up to the light is tedious, to say the least. In the 
case I have in mind, the inspectors were chosen from among a 
number of obviously robust and sturdy individuals, whose 
eyesight measured very nearly perfect. They were then in- 
structed in the art by an expert foreman who believed that 
women could he taught to do the work. It took ten days to grad- 
uate them, and it only remains to be stated that they developed 
a proficiency that set too high a standard at first. It would. 



330 THE MANAGEMENT OF INSPECTION 

in fact, have tied up production if prompt measures had not 
been taken to re-inspect their rejects, until they could be taught 
to hold to a more reasonably commercial standard. And in 
spite of this experience, the scheme was nearly wrecked by their 
inspection foreman (a man of long experience and great skill in 
the business) who stubbornly refused to believe that women 
could learn in so short a time work requiring such skill. From 
this you may deduce the reason for emphasizing certain words in 
this paragraph, or possibly confirm your own conclusion that 
there is more than a modicum of "bunk" about many "skilled" 
operations, so called. 

(g) Morale 

No treatment of the management of the inspection depart- 
ment should close without stressing the special value of a high 
morale. Just as the accuracy of measuring instruments is 
fundamental in determining the degree of mechanical accuracy 
that may be attained, so must the inspection force's fidelity to 
truth be developed to secure the predetermined standard of 
quality that is desired. Thus character is the first desideratum, 
and as a part of it, impartiality, thoroughness, and accuracy in 
developing the real facts; and courage in bringing them to 
light. The Chief Inspector must train his people to secure this 
result; and then, lest he lose the advantage, he must back them 
up when they are right, and must, in his turn, be backed up by 
his superiors in the management. Concurrently, the inspection 
force should be disciplined to a strict obedience in carrying out 
the Chief's instructions, if for no other reason than to secure a 
quick flexibility and certainty of control in developing the 
standards of quality, with freedom from disturbing influences 
arising outside of the inspection department. 

The presence of this same discipline, administered always 
with personal courtesy, will build up the individual's sense of 
the value of his work to the entire organization; and with the 
resulting realization of personal dignity and knowledge of trust, 
there will come a feeling of responsibility and pride in the work 
of the whole department — ^that is to say, an esprit de corps. 



INDEX 



Albro, William H., on idleness, 267 
Analysis, Improving shop methods by, 

185 
Annual inventory. Methods of takmg, 60 

Balance-of-stores clerk's duties, 75 
Balance-of-stores record. Operating, 75 
Balance-of-stores sheet. Use of, 78 
Bennie, J. A., on time-study, 109 
Bernstein, Philip, on group time-studies, 

155 
Bernstein, Philip, on time-study, 138 
Bullard, S. H., on organization, 1 
Bullard Machine Tool Company organiz- 
ation, 1 
Bullard maxi-pay bonus plan, 8 
Bullard maxi-pay wage plan, 8 

Chief inspector. Duties of, 308 
Cost of inspection, 324 
Coxmcil, plant executive, 2 
Cubberley, A. H., on time-study, 130 
Culver, H. G., Stock system, 52 

Department system. Planning, 215 
Departmental organization, 209 
Design, Discovery of faults in, 190 

Employing department. Function of, 6 
Equipment department. Function of, 4 
Estes, L. v., on analysis, 185 
Estes, L. v., on "Patrolling supervision," 

173 
Estes, L. v., on shop order system, 224 
Expense orders. Use of, 101 

Factors effecting shop order system, 239 
Farnham, Dwight T., A moderate-sized 

factory, 10 
Farnham, Dwight T., on piu-chasing, 89 
Fatigue factors, 207 
Foimdry department. Function of, 5 
Fimction of plant executive council, 3 
Functions of an industry. Splitting up, 26 

Gerber, Samuel R., on time-study, 117 
Green, J. D., on inventory, 74 



Hathaway, H. K, on progress sheets, 293 
Hathaway, H. K., on routing, 279 

Idleness, Preventing man and machine, 

267 , . 

Inspection, Coordinating with production, 

255 ... 

Inspection department, Organizmg and 

y managing, 307 
Inspection department personnel, 316 
Inspection, Line organization of, 312 
Inspection, Planning for, 198 
Inspection trouble reports, 256 
Inspectors' wages and working horn's, 322 
Instruction cards for operators, 178 
Inventory, Checking record with physical, 

59 , „ 

Inventory, Correcting by "Double-bm 

system, 87 j »> 

Inventory, Correcting by "Item-a-day 

system, 87 
Inventory, Cost of taking, 72 
Inventory, Methods of summarizing, 67 
Inventory organization and instruction. 

Inventory, Policy in valuing, 98 
Inventory, Preparing for, 70 

Kist, Charles, on stores system, 43 

Machinery, Analysis of, 194 
Material, Choice of by analysis, 191 
Mental specialization, 21 
Metallxu-gical department, Fvmction of, 5 
Method of mapping routine, 222^ 
Moderate-sized factory. System in, 10 
Monthly inventories. Methods of taking, 
60 

Operation analysis, 229 
Operations, Analysis of, 201 
Operations, Quantitative measurement 

of, 201 , . r^ , 

Organization, Bullard Machme Tool 

Company, 1 
Organization, Errors in, 23 
Organization, Main factors to be con- 
sidered, 28 



S31 



J32 



INDEX 



Organization service department. Func- 
tion of, 6 

"Organizing," Distinction between "or- 
ganization," 18 

"Patrolling supervision" — a new fore- 
manship, 173 

Perpetual inventory, 50 

Perpetual inventory from cost record 
cards, 70 

Perpetual inventory. Margin of error in, 
86 

Perpetual inventory. Method of checking, 
100 

Planning, Fimdamental principles govern- 
ing, 228 

Plant operation department. Function of, 
5 

Production department. Function of, 3 

Production order routine. Graphic plan- 
ning of, 218 

Production quantities. Determining, 197 

Production, Time-study as the basis of, 
109 

Progress sheets. Evolution of, 293 

Pm-chase order. Form of, 45 

Pm-chase requisition. Form of, 44 

Piu-chase requisitions. Requirements of, 
32 

Purchased material. Maintaining proper 
stock of, 36 

Pmchased materials. Reporting received, 
56 

Purchases, Bonus and penalty for de- 
livery, 32 

Piu:chasing department, organizing, 29 

Piu-chasing, Following up orders, 30 

Purchasing fimctions shown geograph- 
ically, 219 

Purchasing, Requirements for smooth 
deliveries, 31 

Purchasing, Standard practice for, 89 

Purchasing to specification, 38 

Quality control, 211 
Quantity control, 210 

Radford, George S., on inspection, 255, 

307 
Reorganization of small plant, 11 
Routine of stores department, 43 
Routing multi-part mechanism, 279 
Russell, H. A., on inventory, 60 

Shop functions. Defining, 208 
Shop layout. Arranging, 197 
Small, G. Sumner, on organization, 18 
Small, G. Sumner, on purchasing, 29 
Special equipment. Avoiding, 192 
Special orders. Detriment in, 27 



Specialization of operations, 19 
Specialization of operations. Dangers of, 

21 
Specialization of products handled, 20 
Standard practice instructions, 176 
Standard practice instructions. How to 

write and use, 165 
Standard practice. Methods of instituting, 

166 
Standards department. Function of, 4 
Standards, Determining time-studies, 110 
Standardization of parts, 189 
Standardization of tools, 241 
Standardized processes, Using, 193 
Starker, C. W., on tool organization, 240 
Stock chasers. Experiences with, 104 
Stock, Factors affecting the ordering of, 

83 
Stock goods pm-chased. Determining or- 
ders for, 37 
Stock materials. Methods of ordering, 53 
Stock, Standard maximmn and minimum, 

102 
Stock system. Basis of success of, 50 
Stock system. Requirements of, 52, 92 
Stores credit slip, 81 

Stores, "Double-bin" system of inven- 
tory, 87 
Stores, inventory value of, 98 
Stores, "Item-a-day" system of inven- 
tory, 87 
Stores system. Details of, 43 
Superintendent, Relief from routine, 12 
Supervision, Comparison of types of, 180 

Technical processes. Analysis of, 198 
Time-studies, Group, 155 
Time-study, A four-watch board, 130 
Time-study, Analyzing design and meth- 
ods, 113 
Time-study as a basis for production, 109 
Time-study, Detailed example of, 114 
Time-study, Detailed investigation in, 

120 
Time-study, Filing and burring, 149 
Time-study, Improvements in, 130 
Time-study in small-part manufacture, 

138 
Time-study, Instructing the operator, 138 
Time-study man. Obtaining confidence, 

137 
Time-study man. Qualifications of. 111 
Time-study of automatic screw machines, 

151 
Time-study of cornering and polishing, 

150 
Time-study of drilling, 141 
Time-study of drop forging, 150 
Time-study of hand milling, 149 
Time-study of inspection, 149 



INDEX 



333 



Time-study of power milling, 145 
Time-study of profiling machines, 143 
Time-study, Reading continuously run- 
ning watches, 133 
Time-study, Routine procedure for, 118 
Time-study, Six fimdamentals of, 117 
Time-study, Writing up the analysis and 

instruction, 127 
Tool cost. Reducing, 253 
Tool department operations, 240 
Tool supervisor. Duties of, 254 



Tools, Analysis of, 196 
Traditional supervision, 174 
Travel-line charts, 221 

Van De venter, John H., on department 
systems, 215 

Worcester, Willard S., on standard prac- 
tice instruction, 165 
Works engineer, Function of, 5 




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